Happy Valentine’s Day! It’s no secret that many Americans spend more time at work than with their significant others. Even on the holiday created in the name of love, millions of people will dedicate at least eight hours of their day to a date with their employer as opposed to a date with their spouse.

In the spirit of the holiday, Taleo Research commissioned a survey performed by Harris Interactive. We asked 1,215 employed people how they would feel about their job if it was a person. From marriage to break up, respondents were asked to describe their affection for their current position. What did we learn? Employees lack deep affection and commitment for their current position:

“Love my job? I’m not married to it!”

• Only 9% love their jobs and would marry it.
• 14% hate their jobs and want to break up or don’t like their job and won’t date it for long.

The rest are currently dating somewhere in the middle with a “like it” or “OK” rating. You can just see their wandering eyes. Don’t expect them to stick around if a hotter job comes along. You need to engage these employees fast or be prepared to execute on succession plans and fire up the recruiting machine.

Some of the ways we suggest companies help employees find and ignite their passion for work are by better understanding and supporting their career goals, providing regular feedback, offering mentoring, and rewarding strong performers across the workforce using performance management tools.