But when the office is a hotbed for romance, negative consequences can result, including sexual harassment claims and decreased productivity and morale.
In a 2002 study by the Society for Human Resource Management, 81 percent of human-resource professionals surveyed said intra-office dating is dangerous because it can lead to conflict at work, but only 15 percent reported having a written policy on workplace romance.
Although most human resource managers agree that love in the workplace can be harmful, the lack of written policies may arise from a reluctance to interfere in employees' personal lives. But when a relationship spills into employees' work lives, it can be problematic, distracting the dating couple from their assignments and demoralizing co-workers who see a supervisor's boyfriend or girlfriend getting preferential treatment.
"It would be a good idea for employers to have a policy that, at the minimum, prohibits employees that are in an up-chain or down-chain relationship with each other from [dating]," says Mark Wagner, an employment attorney with Van Cott Bagley Cornwall & McCarthy who sits on the board of the Salt Lake Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). "It's something that any employer would be well-served to at least talk to their lawyer about."
An employer might deal with a manager-subordinate relationship by transferring one employee to another department or asking the couple to sign a "love contract," Wagner says. Love contracts, also known as consensual relationship agreements, emerged in the '90s as a way to protect companies from sexual harassment suits. In a love contract, a dating couple states their relationship is consensual and agrees to abide by workplace policies, including those that prohibit sexual harassment and conflicts of interest.
Romance policies can vary from a verbal policy that discourages co-workers from dating to written policies that ask employees to disclose relationships or ban intra-office dating outright.
"A good policy is specific to a company's particular needs and culture," says Deborah Stone, principal of Salt Lake City-based Evolutionary HR and director of the Salt Lake SHRM. "You can't go find a policy off a shelf somewhere and say, 'We'll do this.' "
Cathy Donohoe, director of human resources at Orem-based Omniture, says her company is rewriting its employee handbook to include a policy on workplace romance. Although the company has not had problems with employee relationships, she says having a romance policy is just good management practice.
"Employers have to be clear about what's acceptable in the workplace and not infringe on someone's personal life," Donohoe says. "If you haven't been clear, then you don't have a policy to stand on when a problem occurs."
Questions to ask when developing
a workplace romance policy:
¤ Does the company need a policy?
¤ How does intra-office dating affect the workplace?
¤ How will a romance policy affect employee morale?
¤ Is asking employees to simply disclose relationships a sufficient policy?
¤ Should dating between managers and subordinates be discouraged or banned?
¤ Should any dating between co-workers be discouraged or banned?
¤ What should happen to employees who do engage in a prohibited relationship?
¤ Is the company large enough that an employee can be moved to a different department or assigned a different supervisor?
¤ Can an employee be terminated for violating the policy?
¤ Should dating couples be asked to sign love contracts, which guard against sexual harassment claims?
Questions to ask when developing a workplace romance policy:
Does the company need a policy?
How does intra-office dating affect the workplace?
How will a romance policy affect employee morale?
Is asking employees to simply disclose relationships a sufficient policy?
Should dating between managers and subordinates be discouraged or banned?
Should any dating between co-workers be discouraged or banned?
What should happen to employees who do engage in prohibited relationship?
Is the company large enough that an employee can be moved to a different department or assigned a different supervisor?
Can an employee be terminated for violating the policy?
Should dating couples be asked to sign love contracts, which guard against sexual harassment claims?
