Women think Irish men are 'less romantic than foreign counterparts', says survey
Four out five women say that Irish men are less romantic than those in other countries, a survey carried from Irish jobsite RecruitIreland.com has found.
In general, Irish attitudes to Valentine’s Day didn’t come out well, with one in three respondents describing the day as a romantic occasion.
The rest say it is just a huge money-spinner (37%), overrated (27%), or just plain tacky (7%).
But this year’s Valentine's Day survey shows plenty of us are flirting - and much, much more - with our co-workers, including chatting each other up online.
Almost one in four of us (23%) have claimed to have had an “intimate encounter” in the office.
Men are much more likely to have done so than their female colleagues (27% - 18%) – or so they say, anyway.
It may not all be as seedy as it sounds - almost half of all employees have had a relationship with someone they work with, and the majority of these (54%) turn into a long-term relationship.
Only 16% say an office relationship has affected their work - including those who only had a fling with their co-worker.
Three-quarters of people think the company shouldn’t be told of what goes on in employee’s private lives, with just 24% thinking their boss has a right to know who is romantically involved.
Coquettish co-workers aren’t confined to cubicles and the break room - flirting with colleagues over social media jumped up in the past year.
Almost a quarter of respondents have flirted with a colleague online (24%), compared to last year’s 15%.
Facebook is by far the most popular (75%), but Snapchat - with its self-deleting timer on any risky messages - was the second most popular with 19% – a huge jump from 2014, when only 6% had snapped a sultry shot for a colleague.
Twitter came third on 10% – using the private direct message function, we hope!
People are split 55-45 on whether we’re all too busy working to bother with romance - though men, despite women’s claims to the contrary, are a little more likely to believe we make time for it (60%).
Men spend more on Valentine's Day gifts, too - 38% of them spend more than €40 on a present for their paramour - while only 23% of women do.
Almost one in 10 guys splash out more than €100 - compared to just 3% of women.
But 24% of us have forgotten to get anything at all – and yes, men are 8% more likely to have it slip their mind.
But as it turns out, it might not matter after all.
Whether you’re a guy or a gal, there’s no disagreement on the most important gift - half of us really believe that a bit of tender loving care is the best thing we can give our other half on February 14.
That said, for men who want to show some affection with traditional gifts to the woman in their lives, flowers seem to be the way to go.
One in five would like flowers (up from 16% last year), while other staples like chocolates (2%), champagne (4%) and even jewellery (7%) get a poor reception.
So it seems the secret to a perfect Valentine's Day really is simply her favourite flowers and some quality time together.
And, hey, if all else fails, you could always try taking on an accent from another, "more romantic" country for a while.
