In Business / June 2007
Love on the Clock
Companies frown on office romance for many good reasons, but it isn’t going away. Since for many single people, the only places to meet a potential partner are the office or the Internet, office romances are very likely to increase.
Flirtation has long been part of the work scene, but romantic liaisons at work—whether they lead to break-ups or marriage—can result in the loss of valuable productivity but also valued employees. In a survey last year by Elle and MSNBC.com, of people who had romances with co-workers, 12 per cent said at least one of them was transferred or left the company
Given a choice, managers would never opt to have their staff distracted by social tension. But managers don’t have the choice. Owners, executives, and human resource teams have to accept that workplace romances are here to stay but do a better job of managing them. Roughly half of workers have already had at least one office romance.
Management must establish strict confidentiality polices, enforce them rigorously, and publicly punish violations
The lack of sound corporate policies reflects a widespread hope that organizations can sidestep the issue, believing if consensual relationships go sour, companies are covered by existing policies prohibiting sexual harassment and retaliation. But employee-relations problems also grow out of consenting unions that don’t end, from a couple’s desire to separate home from work life to shifting responsibility for job assignments, evaluations, and promotions when the pair work in the same department.
Avoiding a policy creates its own problems. When dating policies are merely implied, employees and managers are uncertain about the repercussions of workplace romances. Decisions by managers on a case-by-case basis can lead to claims of discrimination and inconsistent treatment. Managers need training to deal with the issues in a practical, consistent fashion. Even when employers look the other way, co-workers may not, and their reactions to office scandal can be quite damaging.
Some industry experts recommend developing a broad “personal relationship policy” that includes not just sexual relationships but disclosure of close personal relationships as defined in the policy.
Romantic involvement may be the greatest threat to objectivity, but they say after-hours friendships are important to note, too. Research supports that members of ‘good old boy’ and ‘good old girl’ networks get more job perks than lovers. Personnel policies may need to address potential conflicts with marital, extended-family, and close-friendship relationships as well as romantic ones.
They suggest companies develop and distribute guidelines on when a relationship must be disclosed, when there’s a potential conflict of interest or compromising situation. Employees decide if they have a conflict that requires disclosure and, if so, goes to her supervisor for a closed-door discussion. The boss and Human Resource representative must decide whether, given the organizational structure, they are comfortable with the relationship. If yes, employees are warned to keeping the relationship separate from work, and supervisors can be alert to the situation.
Disclosing relationships can be awkward, but advocates of disclosure say it doesn’t have to be embarrassing if handled properly, and there are payoffs on both managerial and organizational levels. East Coast companies that have implemented the proactive policies report them quite effective. General Motors has operated under a policy that includes the ‘basics of disclosure’ for several years.
A disclosure policy gives a company the explicit prerogative to decide whether an employee’s ties may adversely affect performance. The manager can then determine organizationally whether it’s realistic to keep the individuals working closely together, or if makes more sense to move them apart or invite one to look for a job elsewhere.
Mandating the disclosure of potentially compromising relationships is probably not realistic. But those relationships often have more ramifications than benign, conventional ones, and managers shouldn’t be in the dark. The crucial step is to establish and nurture a nonjudgmental climate. Employees must be guaranteed their disclosures will be revealed only to a few with a need to know, and held in strict confidence. Managers must be trained to keep the information confidential, and know that failure to do so will compromise their own employment.
Companies that haven’t had to deal with office romances yet can’t count on continued good luck. Some studies suggest work is already the number-one meeting ground where people find their spouses. Home is where the heart is, and for many people, that’s at work.
Copyright © 2007 A Woman's View. All rights reserved.
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