Like watercooler gossip and post-work kerbside pints, having an office crush is a tried-and-true method for splintering the often unbearable monotony of a 9-5. But what about when it crosses the boundaries and evolves into a real relationship? It turns out that a small portion of young Brits are fucking around and finding out, stumbling upon love in the workplace once again.

Despite being the first generation to grow up entirely online, Gen Z is relying on dating apps significantly less than millennials in their search for love, with only 16 per cent of the former meeting their partner that way compared to 22 per cent of the latter, per a survey from YouGov. Instead, young people are leaning towards more “offline” locations - work (14 per cent), through friends (13 per cent) and education (17 per cent).

26-year-old Sara* found love at work, and has now been in a relationship with a former colleague for three years. She’s happy they didn’t meet through swiping on an app, but admits in the beginning she was hesitant to mix business and pleasure. “He sent me a text asking me out, and I literally threw my phone across the room because I was so freaked out”, she recalls. “I took so long to answer him because I was concerned about what would happen if it didn't go well. I didn’t want to jeopardise a position I’d worked hard to get.”

Dating a colleague has always been a risky business, but Sara’s fears come amid a particularly precarious job market, with one in eight young people currently out of work. If you do manage to snag one of the precious few roles available, it’s understandable that you’d be hesitant to do anything to mess it up. “To date well, we have to be vulnerable, which can be scary. If we’re also doing that in an environment that doesn’t feel that safe or stable, then it’s just terrifying,” says psychotherapist Hannah Jackson-McCamley.

It’s why, to begin with, Sara and her boyfriend kept their relationship a secret. “When we were having sleepovers I’d tell him to drop me off, and I’d make him drive around so he would go in later,” she tells Dazed. It’s an experience that resonates with Niamh, 29, who says she found it “quite awkward” when she began dating her colleague and had to keep it under wraps for the first six months. During that time, office small talk became a minefield. “It was especially uncomfortable when people asked us things about our personal lives, like what we did at the weekend,” she says.

Dating is generally peppered with unwritten rules and expectations, but at work new complications come into play. 27-year-old Ted is dating his colleague, who is his junior. Though their employers and other coworkers know about their relationship, he admits it can sometimes be awkward to navigate the power dynamics of assigning tasks to someone you’re sleeping with. “We do laugh about it,” he says, “But I prefer it when we don’t work [on projects] together.”

If we did break up, it would be tough to work together. I think probably one of us would end up leaving

That young people are, albeit slowly, eschewing these risks and daring to date their colleagues may come as a surprise, given the stereotype that Gen Z are overly anxious and terminally online. Dr Jenny van Hooff, senior lecturer in sociology at Manchester Metropolitan University, theorises that it’s this very fact that has catalysed dating app fatigue. “Precisely because they have grown up immersed in social media, they may be more alert to its downsides, including the gamification of dating apps and the anxiety and rejection that comes with them,” she says. “The lower-stakes intimacy of relationships that develop organically through repeated contact at work may simply feel safer than the high-volume, high-rejection environment of dating apps.”

Dating a colleague also challenges the commitment-phobia that has become so pervasive in the dating pool in recent years. After all, you can’t avoid someone who is sitting next to you in a team meeting, and you should probably think about any potential long-term consequences, rather than skirting communication or thoughts of the future entirely. Of course, no one wants to begin a new relationship envisioning how it will end, but when the risk is running into your ex every morning in the lift, it’s a conversation worth having. “If we did break up, it would be tough to work together,” Ted says. “I think probably one of us would end up leaving. You’d want to move on with your life, and it’s tricky if someone you have loved is opposite you every single day.” He adds that it’s something he and his partner do discuss.

29-year-old Claire* has been dating her former colleague for over two years and is all too aware of the complications that come with it. “At first it was exciting, but then we got anxious about it, and it did put a strain on our relationship,” she admits. Though they are now happily together – and in separate workplaces – they broke up twice while at their old company. “It was really hard. I stopped going to work, and it was difficult to manage.”

It’s why, if you are interested in someone at work, Jackson-McCamley suggests some tips to keep in mind to make everything go as smoothly as possible. “On a practical level, check your workplace rules on this,” she says. “Take it really slow. Be very clear with yourself on your expectations and boundaries,” she adds. “Be really intentional with how you’re going into this, and keep your eyes wide open to the repercussions, but also that it might lead to something awesome.” Dating a colleague can ultimately have a lot of unique and unexpected benefits. “We understand each other even more deeply because we know the people we work with and the dynamics. It brings a lot more depth and understanding,” Claire says.

Falling in love is always a gamble. To give love a chance – unfortunately for a risk-averse generation – you must embrace the free fall. There’s no scenario where putting your heart in the hands of another is completely easy, and naturally, it can go wrong. But, for Niamh, at least, crossing the awkward boundary was “absolutely” worth the hassle. “Things are not always straightforward,” she says. “But nothing worth having comes easy.”