Office boredom drives men to flirt

A follow-up questionnaire suggested that such workplace flirts had lower levels of "emotional intelligence," or understanding of other people's feelings or even sensitivity.

The second study, but not the first, also indicated that women who flirted at work were happier at their jobs but researchers said the result could have been a fluke.

Psychologists from Surrey University set out to test the theory that flirting could improve people's chances of being promoted at work, the Telegraph reports.

Adrian Banks, who led the study, said: "What we found was the complete opposite. Flirts don't perform better at work and men who flirt are less satisfied with their jobs. There is strong evidence against that notion that you can flirt your way to the top."