A new study reports that men who flirt in the workplace are bored with their jobs.
By Stephanie Castillo — Written on Jul 15, 2011
You know that really cute guy you work with, who is always smiling at you when you catch his eye? Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but he isn't doing it because he likes you. He's doing it because he's bored.
At least that's what a new study released by the University of Surrey believes. In an attempt to test the idea that men flirt as means to boost their self-confidence or to get ahead in their career (as opposed to, say, actually liking the object of their flirtation), researchers asked 201 participants between the ages of 21 and 68 to answer questions based on their behaviors, job performance and level of job satisfaction at work. The results found that men flirting at work correlates negatively to job satisfaction, however there was no significant relationship between flirting and job satisfaction for women. In fact, the study found women who flirt at work are just as happy in their jobs as those who kept relationships on a strictly business basis.
Lead researcher Chad Moussa presented the study's findings at a British Psychological Society conference, and he said that this shows flirting doesn't make employees more satisfied and/or perform better. Yet, The Daily Mail looked into a 2007 study commissioned by Harper's Bazaar that found women are quite prepared to flirt their way to the top, and 86 percent of women would happily flirt with a male colleague if it meant they got their own way.
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Do you flirt at work?