By SUNNY LAYNE MYERS
Warning: the office may be hazardous to your marriage.
The lure of the opposite sex in the workplace is more than most married people can handle, reveals a new Swedish study.
The Wall Street Journal's Sue Shellenbarger recently reported on the seven-year study that covered 37,000 employees at 1,500 workplaces.
Rather than shooting arrows at lovers in the moonlight, Cupid is opting for the fluorescent glow of the boardroom.
The study's empirical evidence shows working with co-workers who are all of the opposite sex increases the divorce rate by a staggering 70 percent, compared with an office filled with co-workers of the same sex.
Study author Yvonne Aberg, now a research fellow at Oxford University, said whether co-workers were single or married held no sway.
Aberg analyzed only statistical links, not actual behaviors, such as office hanky-panky.
But data distinctly suggests that in the workplace, ''it doesn't matter whether you're married or not. It's open season'' on romantic prospects, said David Popenoe of the National Marriage Project at Rutgers University, Shellenbarger wrote.
Wandering eyes of suddenly single peers make divorce infectious.
The study claims a married person is 43 percent more likely to get divorced if one-third of his or her co-workers are recently divorced people of the opposite sex, than if none of the co-workers were recently divorced.
Aberg said the contagious divorce effect shrank over time, suggesting it's the act of divorce, rather than being divorced, that sways others most.
Although the study reflects numbers outside dense The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints population areas, members of the church are not immune to the divorce bug.
'Mormons get divorced for the same reasons other people do,' said BYU marriage and family therapy professor Jerry Harris. 'I would guess we have a lesser rate , but we surely have our share of infidelity.'
Deseret News reported on Aug. 11, 2002, the Mormon divorce rate is only five to 10 percent lower than the national average of 50 percent.
Harris said office relationships can threaten any marriage -- whether or not the couple is LDS.
When one spends such a large amount of time with one's peers, if he or she adds up the hours, they have spent much more time with co-workers -- eight to 10 hours a day -- compared with time with their family -- one to two hours a day -- and that is not even counting one-on-one time with a spouse, Harris said.
By the threat posed from over-exposure to the opposite sex, research emphasizes the need for working couples to fortify their relationship.
'The first thing couples need to do to avoid infidelity is put effort into their marriage,' said Assistant Director of BYU's Comprehensive Clinic Mark Lees. 'They need to make sure they have a loving relationship with their spouse. A lot of things can happen when couples aren't happy at home.'
The allure of singlehood is another culprit of couples throwing in the towel, according to the study.
The chance of divorce increases 60 percent if all co-workers of the same sex are single, rather than married, possibly because single peers remind marrieds of the freedoms outside of marriage.
Despite the stir of Aberg's study, hers is not the first to indict office amour with divorce.
An online survey for Elle magazine and MSNBC.com polled 31,207 men and women about office romance. It showed that among the 62 percent who had at least one office affair, half of those were married or in a committed relationship. Nine percent said the termination of an affair led to a separation or divorce.
'What starts out as 'just fun' can escalate. And clearly, the marrieds are not out of the loop,' study author Jane Lever said in The Wall Street Journal.
BYU 2002 graduate, Emily Lew, said married couples should take extra precautions to ensure the safety of their marriage.
'Married people shouldn't be friends with single people of the opposite sex,' she said. 'It's just not appropriate.'
BYU senior Jason Allen said parents can provide a powerful role model of how one should treat their future spouse.
'I just learned about by the example of my parents,' he said. 'They always dealt with people of the opposite sex with the utmost appropriateness.'
With office temptations rising and traditional boundaries falling, protecting one's marriage is becoming a priority for married couples.
Shellenbarger wrote the study claims working in the same office as one's spouse reduces risk of divorce by about half.
If couples find it difficult to get a job in the same office, there are other protective steps couples can take.
According to an article in The L.A. Times on April 8, 2000, one of the most statistically significant ways of ensuring a divorce-free marriage is to marry in the temple.
'While other Mormons divorce at the usual rate,' stated the article, 'only six percent of those who are sealed in the temple divorce.'
Couples who pray together might stay together, according to a Salt Lake Tribune article published August 11, 2002.
'Divorce rate among Mormons who worship together is about 20 percent,' it said.
Although a 20 percent chance of failure accompanying worshipping couples is not exactly inspiring, the alternative statistic might bring couples to their knees: the same article said one spouse worshiping without the other catapults divorce rates past the 50 percent average for divorce.
Along with preventative measures, such as working together and praying together, there are specific refusal steps spouses can take should a co-worker come on.
Lees counsels pairs to strictly guard their union.
'If someone comes on to you, set boundaries right off the bat and shut them down,' he said.
Lees also advises couples to not spend time alone with colleagues, to never travel alone with someone of the opposite sex -- even on business, and if come-ons persist, it may be necessary to change work areas, or even leave the company.
Couples can also see a marriage counselor or take a marital-education course. A listing of courses is available on smartmarriages.com.
Lees said marriage is a sacred thing worth fighting for, and the breaking of vows should be avoided at all costs.
'A few minutes of gratification is a very selfish act that is accompanied by guilt, a divided family, possibly losing one's kids, even one's job,' he said. 'You can even run the risk of sexual harassment if you are involved with a subordinate.'
Harris said rather than viewing marriage as the end-all, couples must give continuing attention to their union.
'Many Mormons view marriage as something you do -- you get married and stay married, instead of as a process,' he said. ' takes work and effort, just like anything else.'