In the last 2 weeks, stories revolving around corporate sexual escapades have made headlines and ranked top on social media. This has raised several debates ranging from paternity claims and DNA tests. Most of these cases occur in the banks, and the reason has been tagged around the cause of meeting targets at all costs.
Flirting,
bantering and other sexual interactions are commonplace in most work organizations.
This is not a new phenomenon, sexual relationship in office place has been part
of corporate life from time immemorial. The disruption caused by social media
further pushed it to the fore, causing concerns among partners and relations,
whom it may have affected. Not all of these corporate interactions constitute
harassment or assault; consensual sexual relationships, defined as those
reflecting positive and autonomous expressions of workers’ sexual desire, are
also prevalent in the workplace.
Away
from sexual harassments, emotional blackmail and work pressure, that are known
to be the cause for the high records of infidelity in banks, most people fail
to recognize that the workplace is a structure that encourages closely-knitted
interactions, and by extension, relationships among the staff of banks.
A
big player in one of the blue-brand banks shared reflections on some of the
reasons why staff can be having sex with one another, despite having respective
marital commitments.
Sharing
some instances with City People, the banker stated that most of the bank’s
headquarters in Lagos are usually faced with plumbing issues because of the
excess stuck of latex condoms in the pipes
“At
our headquarters on the Island before COVID, we would have plumbers come around
like twice or thrice in a year to clear the pipes of latex condoms that have
been used and flushed down the restrooms.
“But
more recently during and after the lockdown, the rate at which we call plumbers
is higher than before, and it’s just for one challenge; pipe blockage.
These
are offices where there are more married men and women, and the younger ones
spend more time outside the office to prospect”, he told City People.
In
this long-hours culture, many of the corporate staff see more of their
colleagues than friends and families. They sit next to men in smart suits,
showing off their most competent and creative sides. They, in turn, are treated
the young, single, and married women to their best selves – most of the women,
in turn, make more of an effort to look good for work than they do for their
partners.
Little
wonder that sex in the office is flourishing and it’s not limited to Nigeria or
Africa. One in three of staff has had sex at work, according to a survey of
1,000 UK workers by Human & Legal Resources and half of them meet their
partners at work, according to the Industrial Society. It feels deliciously
illicit, locking you into a private world of in-jokes and emails, but often
there is a cost – office affairs can be a cause of serious emotional damage to
parties involved.
While
sharing his own sexual experience, our source who works at a Red-coloured brand
bank in Ikeja stated;
“A
married lady had her desk next to mine. She’s from Udoma and would boast of her
sexual prowess and vow to render me cripple once she’s done with me.
“During
the lockdown, we were doing shift, and in one of those days, she jokingly said
she’d love to see what I had ‘down there’.
“There
was so much sexual tension and after days of flirting between us I said, ‘Why
not today?’ We got an hour lunch break and went to a motel around Allen. Had
sex twice then took a shower together and went back to work. There was no
drama. Our friendship continued as normal. I still talk to her every now and
then even though we both moved onto different positions. “he narrated.
Taking
into account that most people spend the majority of their lives working with
the same group of people every day, there is no surprise that romance and
sexual relationships happen in their plenty in work environments, and banking
sector is no exception.
In
fact, according to a 2013 survey by Businessweek, 90% of workers are turned on
by someone they work with and 85% think that workplaces should not ban sexual
encounters between their staff members.
When
you consider how common office romances are, the result is astounding.
Of
the 90% of people attracted to their colleagues, 64% had made a move for a
co-worker or have dreamt about being with them.
Just
over half (54%) go as far as to sleep with their office crush and 55% of those
only engage in the act once with one night stands the most common form of
office encounter.
These
are pretty shocking stats, which show just how common office romances really
are in today’s culture.
The
bank work structure slightly differs from the regular 9 to 5 corporate work
mode as bankers spend more time in the building despite the official closure
from customers.
While
it is clear that people love nothing more than a saucy encounter at work, there
are a few clear trends in the type of office romances that exist.
Almost
half of the people admitting to having sex on the work premises; 71% of people
agreed that their relationship with a colleague had no impact on their
productivity at work and 84% said there was no impact on their career.
When
it comes to which workers hook up with each other, sources claim that most
staff avoid sleeping with the boss. 86% of workers said they avoided getting
involved in this situation while the bosses themselves showed similar restraint
with only 36% sleeping with a junior colleague.
Proving
that sexual encounters aren’t necessarily that rare, 55% also admitted to
sleeping with more than one workmate.
As
of today, corporate laws, contract, and employer’s policies in Nigeria do not
allow emotional relationship among staff, one can only minimize preferential
treatment that may suggest gestures that speak beyond official, by acting
ethically, professionally and with cultural sensitivity.
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