Office Affairs Begin At Holiday Parties, AshleyMadison.com Reports

Why You Shouldn't Let Your Spouse Go To The Office Holiday Party Alone
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Worried about letting your spouse attend his or her office holiday party alone? According to AshleyMadison.com -- a dating site for married people looking to cheat -- you have good reason to be.

A recent Ashley Madison press release reveals that out of 23,455 people polled (all of whom have accounts on the site), 46.1 percent of men and 37.4 percent of women have had an affair with a co-worker. Among these cheaters, 72.2 percent of women and 59.8 percent of men say that they had their first encounter with the affair partner at an office holiday party.

The founder and CEO of Ashley Madison, Noel Biderman, explained why these gatherings are breeding grounds for extra-marital liaisons: "[They] offer an informal atmosphere, and when mixed with alcohol and pent-up sexual tensions between two colleagues, it’s a recipe for disaster."

And while not everyone acts on the temptation, many people have entertained the idea of a tryst with a colleague. Data from the website indicates that 89.1 pecent of men and 83.2 percent of women have thought about having an affair with a co-worker. Even more shocking is that 94.7 percent of men and 96.3 percent of women have copped to having sexual fantasies about someone in their office.

We want to know: Are company holiday parties a recipe for marital disaster? Let us know in the comments, then click through the slides below to test your knowledge about other cheating statistics.

Cheating Survey Trivia
QUESTION: According to an online study, women with what color hair are more likely to cheat? (01 of14)
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a) Black b) Blonde c) Redd) Brown (credit:Alamy, Shutterstock)
ANSWER: Blondes (02 of14)
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Apparently, blondes really do have more fun. According to a recent online survey conducted by Cheaterville.com, a support website for those who've been cheated on, a whopping 42 percent of users said female cheaters had blonde hair, while 23 percent cited red hair, 20 percent cited brown and 11 percent cited black.For men, it's brunette spouses you have to worry about. According to the site, 40 percent of male cheaters had brown hair. (credit:Alamy )
QUESTION: According to a 2011 study, men are more likely to interrogate their partners about the sexual nature of an affair, while women question this:(03 of14)
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a) How long the affair lasted b) If the other man or woman was someone they knew c) If the cheater was in love with the other man or womand) If the cheater initiated the affair (credit:Alamy, Shutterstock )
ANSWER: If the cheater was in love with the other man or woman(04 of14)
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According to evolutionary psychologist Barry Kuhle's 2011 study, men who've been cheated on are more likely to grill their partners about the sex itself, while women were more likely to ask whether their partner was in love with his mistress. So how did Kuhle and his team go about collecting the observational data for the study? They watched the television show "Cheaters" to observe how partners in 75 different affair confrontations reacted. (credit:Alamy )
QUESTION: Men who hold this occupation are most likely to cheat, according to a 2012 online survey.(05 of14)
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a) Lawyers b) Teachers c) IT engineersd) Doctors (credit:Alamy, Shutterstock )
ANSWER: IT/Engineer(06 of14)
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What's the typical profile of a cheating husband? In 2012, AshleyMadison.com -- a dating site for married people looking to have affairs -- surveyed 11,453 fathers with accounts on the site and found that the largest percentage of would-be cheaters work in the IT/Engineering field. Those in the financial industry (8.2 percent) and education (6.5 percent) came in second and third, respectively. (credit:Alamy )
According to recent studies, what percentage of women have had affairs?(07 of14)
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a) 30-35 percent b) 15-20 percentc) 5-10 percentd) 2-5 percent (credit:Alamy, Shutterstock )
ANSWER: 15-20 percent (08 of14)
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Fifteen to 20 percent of women have had affairs, according to studies from Indiana University and Manchester Metropolitan University, while a comparative 20-25 percent of men have cheated on their partners. (credit:Pinwords)
According to an online survey, mothers who cheat had been married for an average of this many years: (09 of14)
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a) One yearb) Five years or lessc) 16 years or mored) 25 years or more (credit:Alamy, Shutterstock )
ANSWER: Five years or less(10 of14)
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In May 2012, infidelity-based matchmaking site Ashleymadison.com polled 2,865 of their married female members and found that the typical cheating married woman was married for five years or less, in her 30s, and had a daughter under three years old. (credit:Alamy )
A recent online survey showed that 66 percent of Americans believe that people cheat on their spouses while...(11 of14)
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a) At the officeb) In Las Vegasc) At work conferences and trade shows c) At bachelor and bachelorette parties (credit:Alamy, Shutterstock )
ANSWER: Work Conferences And Trade Shows(12 of14)
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Yep, a surprising 66 percent of Americans believe that people cheat on their spouses at work conferences and trade shows, according to an August 2012 online survey conducted on behalf of ON24, a webcasting and virtual events company. (credit:Alamy )
QUESTION: Infidelity-based matchmaking site AshleyMadison.com has recently seen an influx of married women signing up for its services on the day after this holiday.(13 of14)
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a) Valentine's Dayb) New Year's c) Mother's Day d) Christmas (credit:Alamy, Shutterstock )
Answer: Mother's Day (14 of14)
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For the past four years, AshleyMadison.com claims to have seen a rush of married women signing up for its services the day after Mother's Day.In fact, according to the site's founder, Noel Biderman, more married women sign up for the site on that day than on any other day of the year. Why? Biderman said he thinks the women feel especially under-appreciated on Mother's Day. "If that day comes to pass, and once again what [women] experience is a lack of appreciation, affection and respect, that is when the idea of taking on a potential lover takes full form," he said. (credit:Alamy)

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