Responding to Workplace Romance: A Proactive and Pragmatic Approach

Abstract

Romance is a fact of life in the workplace. Managers often avoid confronting the workplace romance issue much as one would avoid a sleeping dragon: 'Why go looking for difficult and dangerous problems when your management plate is al­ ready overflowing?           About  80 percent    of   employees   may at some   time be involved in or know of a workplace romance (Shellenbarger 2004; Taub 2002); yet in both 2001 and 2005 fewer than 15 percent of employers had a policy dealing with romance or sexual relationships in the workplace (Parks 2006). Employees of ten believe their love life is nobody's business but their own even if it is evident in the workplace and may impact workplace outcomes.

However, organizations often end up dealing with the aftermath of a workplace romance on one or more levels-including accusations of favoritism, sexual harassment claims, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claims, confidentiality and/or privacy issues, and even workplace violence-all of which result in the potential of legal liability for the organization. The organization-most likely through the office of human resources-should develop policies and processes for managing and dealing with workplace romances. This paper explores literature on workplace romances and presents two hypothetical cases to highlight the issues. The cases are used to discuss human resource management issues and the potential organizational losses that may result from workplace romances. The paper also provides a list of key concepts to be included in an organizational workplace romance policy that will assist practitioners in creating such policies for their own organizations. Suggestions for training and increasing awareness of management regarding workplace romance are also included.