It's not surprising that an increasing number of people are courting mates at the copy machine rather than the bar. Over the last 15 years, the ratio of men and women in most offices has become nearly 50-50, and almost half the workforce spends more than 40 hours a week at the office. In other words, if you have no life outside the office, you develop one inside the office. Some see the workplace as the ideal meeting venue, since having your desk next to someone is a great way to get to know what they're about. And with a growing number of companies using screening services before making a hire, you can figure that most hardened criminals aren't going to wind up microwaving popcorn in the lunchroom.

But if you're contemplating a date with the attractive colleague down the hall, there are still some things you should know. Larry Gaffin, a career counselor at the Center for Life Decisions in Seattle and one of a small minority of workplace consultants looking out for employees rather than their bosses, says that many of the workplace romance tales he's heard -- and he's heard plenty -- are between people at different levels in the company hierarchy, commonly an executive and his or her employee.