There are minor workplace issues and there are major workplace issues. And then there are blown-out-of-proportion workplace issues—like romance in the office, a topic that inevitably surfaces around Valentine’s Day.

What is it about this commercial candy-and-card holiday that makes publicists, consultants and PR people feel the need to tout the latest polls, surveys and books that purport to help managers deal with this terrible workplace problem? I understand the news hook of Valentine’s Day, but really, is this a hot, burning issue for any workplace in America?

Here’s what I’m talking about:

• CareerBuilder’s annual Valentine survey (they need an annual survey?) found that 40 percent of workers have dated a co-worker “sometime during their career,” and that 29 percent went on to marry the person they dated at work.
• Another poll, the SpherionWorkplace Snapshot, a survey conducted by Harris Interactive, found that “36 percent of U.S. workers would consider dating a co-worker if they were single, a number that has steadily declined from 42 percent in January 2005.” It also found that 30 percent of workers feel that openly dating a co-worker would jeopardize their job security or advancement opportunities. That’s down from 41 percent in 2007.
• The publicist for self-described “business etiquette expert” Barbara Pachter touts her book New Rules@Work: 79 Etiquette Tips, Tools, and Techniques to Get Ahead and Stay Ahead as a guide to how to “share a copier by day and a bedroom by night with someone without hurting your professional image.” Some of Pachter’s “advice” includes insights such as “Continue to Keep the Relationship Private,” “Don’t Email X-Rated Valentine’s Day Cards” and “If the Relationship Fails, Be Professional and Adult About It.”
• According to Vault.com’s 2008 Office Romance Survey, “48 percent of respondents have known a married colleague to have an affair with someone at the office. In addition, 40 percent know of a married or seriously involved co-worker who had a romantic liaison with someone other than their partner while on a business trip.”

This is just the tip of chocolate heart. I’ve gotten at least a dozen press releases on the latest Valentine’s Day survey, poll or expert advice that is supposed to show why office romances are good, bad or problematic. In fact, if you were to just focus on the Valentine’s Day hype, you would think this is a new, huge workplace problem.

Well, here’s a news flash: It’s not. Office romances have always been part of the equation in any workplace since the dawn of time, and there’s no evidence that the problem has gotten appreciably better or appreciably worse. Yes, sometimes office romances go bad, but as I pointed out last year, the current trend seems to be to not get too worried about co-workers dating.

My own opinion on office romance hasn’t changed, hype, trends and surveys notwithstanding: It’s a bad idea. As I pointed out in November, it’s because “all too often they go bad. Spoiled office romances leave the participants—and the co-workers around them, who have to live with the bitter, sometimes litigious aftermath—much worse off as a result.” This is true at any time of year, not just at Valentine’s Day.

So be forewarned: You’re going to get bombarded with “love in the office” warnings and surveys over the next few days, all being pushed by organizations with “news” or “expert advice” they’re trying to sell or hype. Don’t feel compelled to rewrite your employee handbook, though. This junk is extremely forgettable—or at least it will be until the cupid machine goes into overdrive again around this time next year.