When business gets busy

"Well, ya see, there’s this new guy at work, but …"

Chances are you’ve heard this line at least once over happy-hour cosmos with your galpals … or maybe even uttered it yourself. It’s only natural for us to find hookup potentials at work—you know, the place you spend most of your waking hours—but what’s the best way to play this particular game?

Brazen Careerist blogger Penelope Trunk has called for a hiatus on tiptoeing around this dicey subject and tackled it headon in her recent post "Girl’s guide to getting the guy at work."

1. Flirt verbally rather than physically. Guys are notoriously bad at interpreting nonverbal cues from women (not, it’s not just us; science now backs this up), so give the body language a rest and let your voice do the talking.

2. If you know he’s interested, play hard-to-get. Men hunt. It’s their nature. Make him work for you and he’ll be as happy as a lab chasing a stick; plus, it does wonders for your ego.

3. Don’t make the first move if you’re not the same age. According to a recent study, men prefer to make the first move toward a coworker if they’re in different age groups. So unless you’re right around the same age, hang back and let him do the first mating dance.

Want to know more? Check out Stephanie Losee and Helaine Olen’s book Office Mate: Your Employee Handbook for Romance on the Job. Their advice-packed tome will show you how to make the most of the office dating pool, what to look for in a potential paramour, how to handle the romance day-to-day, how to protect a career if the relationship goes sour, and much more.

P.S. If something goes wrong, or if you still feel just too weird about dating someone at the office, look at it this way: the average worker changes jobs every 18 months, so it could soon be a moot point.