Sex in the Office? Think, Don't Touch

It's OK to have a little "woo-hoo" at work.

So says Sam Chapman, a Chicago-based public relations executive and book author, who is referring to the sexual feelings that bubble up in the office.

Chapman is not advocating acting inappropriately on those feelings -- that could get you fired, break up your marriage, or get you sued for sexual harassment. But since it's normal and human to feel sexual attraction to others, Chapman says it's healthy to acknowledge it in the office.

"You can realize the sexiness of a situation or a person and then retreat to a private moment in which you feel a little zing or say a little 'woo-hoo' inside your mind," writes Chapman in his new book, "The No-Gossip Zone" (Sourcebooks, $22.99).

"As long as you don't act on these feelings or behave inappropriately, feeling sexual attraction to a fellow coworker or employee is not a crime," Chapman writes.

Indeed, Chapman says the "woo-hoo" feeling can be efficiently dealt with in 20 seconds or less of imaginary bliss, and even a physical shimmy.

This advice should keep romantic shenanigans out of the office, says Chapman, who also bars his employees from gossiping at his 20-person public relations office.

"Either they go to the horse's mouth or they keep it to themselves," says Chapman.

"If you're saying Jennie is cheating on her husband, you have to go tell Jennie," is how Chapman explains his policy. "And you know that when you join my firm."

Sociologists and psychologists say gossip acts like a social lubricant that can bond colleagues in the workplace.

"Yeah, it's like several martinis are a social lubricant. They don't have any place in our workday either," says Chapman.

Chapman is married to Dr. Laura Berman, the TV sex doctor who counseled couples at her therapy center in Chicago and edited it into an HBO series called "Sexual Healing" a few years ago.

Chapman says he's not trying to suffocate office romances. His advice, he says, is aimed at maintaining a professional workplace.

But for some available folks, there is room for romance.

According to a 2006 survey by CareerBuilder.com, 43 percent of workers in the U.S. have dated a work colleague. And about a third of that group ended up marrying the coworker.

In other words, "woo-hoo" could turn into "I do."