James, a developmental editor, and his editorial assistant, Sally, engaged in a steamy affair almost as soon as the two met in their book publishing company. Less than discreet, the two were caught kissing more than once in hallways and building elevators. Ultimately, their relationship caused grumbling among Sally's co-workers, who felt that Sally's prime assignments were due to favoritism.

Any of that sound familiar? If so, it's not surprising. With most employees working longer hours than ever, leaving little opportunity to hook up with someone outside the office, intra-office romance is on the rise. The trend has left a growing number of HR and other managers wondering both how and whether to handle workplace romances. Many managers feel uncomfortable trying to regulate what they view as employees' personal affairs.

"It's rather dicey to tell someone that they can't date someone else - especially during their off-hours," said Gail Jern, Westaff's Human Resources Representative. "Employers have enough issues to deal with in the work place without becoming involved with an employee's love life."

An American Management Association survey confirmed that most companies prefer the hands-off approach. Eighty-four per cent of those who responded said their companies had no written policies on workplace or employee dating. In part, the stance probably acknowledges that many "affairs" end quite positively. More than half of workplace romances end in marriage or long-term commitments. It may also be due to the fact that a third of managers admit to dating co-workers themselves.

Given all of that, many companies rely on ethics, conduct and other business codes that minimize the need for a dating policy. (See Side Story.) Those may work fine in most cases, experts say. But companies still need to make sure that whatever policies they're relying on still cover the range of situations or unprofessional behavior that can arise from an intra-office affair - especially one that has grown uncontrollably hot or, on the other hand, that's gone sour. Behavior such as on-site sexual conduct, for example, is more common than many managers realize.

When it comes to office romance, many trysts take place on company time with the boardroom being the preferred spot (23 per cent), followed by the boss's office (11.4 per cent), the copy room (10.3 per cent) and the elevator (9.7 per cent), according to a Vault.com survey.

When things do get out of hand, managers need to follow through on their companies' policies to preserve professionalism and office morale. (Co-workers, for example, can suffer dips in productivity from the gossip and distraction of working around a particularly heated affair.) Managers may have to meet with the parties involved individually to make it clear that while the company may not object to their relationship after hours, at work they must maintain a professional demeanor.

"Employees need to understand that they can't act like high school students," Jern said. "There can't be any 'necking by the lockers,' so to speak."

Among companies' worst fears is that when a relationship goes sour, especially if it involves a supervisor/subordinate romance, an affair can lead to litigation in which one party claims she was pressured into the relationship. While rare, some companies are so concerned about protecting themselves against such a scenario, they are opting for hard-line policies that absolutely forbid intra-office dating and warn about summarily firing employees who are caught dating.

Increasingly, companies are also considering "love contracts" or "volitional relationship contracts" as a way to protect themselves, especially in the case of a relationship that has a high potential for a sexual harassment claim. The contract, which would be signed by the couple, typically specifies that a relationship is voluntary and that the couple will behave professionally both during and after the relationship. It can also require the parties to inform management if the relationship ends.

Others companies simply require that should two employees in the same department marry, become engaged, or cohabitate, then, at the company's discretion and convenience, one employee will be transferred to another unit. If that's not feasible, one of the parties may be required to leave the company.

Still other companies, like Southwest Airlines, take a completely different approach. Many of their employees are married to each other and many of those met at Southwest. The upshot is that Southwest has dubbed itself the LUV airline and uses LUV as its ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange.

Whatever your company's approach, when you learn about a romance at your workplace, be sure to treat the situation carefully, discreetly and with respect for the parties involved. While it's important for your company to be protected against unprofessional behavior, experts say that in fact most employees involved in an office affair are just as concerned as their employer that their relationship not affect their department or their work. So, especially if you're not getting complaints, avoid making negative assumptions.

"In my experience, most people are pretty good about keeping their relationships quiet," Jern said. "Two employees can have a relationship for a very long time and often co-workers are surprised when they finally learn about it."