Workplace Romances Can Be a Risky Business
Mark Wagner
Recent news accounts of the resignation of Boeing's Chief Executive Officer, under allegations of an affair with a co-employee, serve as reminders that workplace romances, while common, can pose real problems for companies. At the same time, however, many office romances result in long-term personal relationships that flourish without harm to the company. The challenge for employers is how to communicate the guidelines and consequences involved in order to protect the interest of the company.
According to a 2005 Office Romance Survey conducted by Vault, Inc., 58% of employees say they have been involved in an office romance, up 12% from the results from two years ago. These numbers are not particularly surprising in light of the amount of time employees now spend in the workplace. What is surprising, however, is how few companies have adopted a policy on office romances given the dangers such romances can pose to companies. In response to a 2002 workplace romance survey conducted jointly by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and Career Journal.com, 81% of HR professionals and 76% of executives said that workplace romances were dangerous. The same survey reports, however, that 75% of HR managers and 59% of executives who responded reported that their business had no policy on workplace romances.
Turning a blind eye to workplace romances can be a risky business. What happens when a relationship between two employees goes sour? What if the jilted employee wants a little revenge, or is simply unwilling to accept that the relationship is over? What if one of the employees is married? What about the opinions of the other employees? Many companies are hesitant to adopt employee relationship policies out of fear that they will be viewed by employees as an undue intrusion into their personal lives. The SHRM survey, however, suggests that such fears may be unfounded, finding that employees were far more likely than HR Professionals to believe that restrictions on workplace romance are positive (see chart).
RESTRICTIONS ON WORKPLACE ROMANCE REPORTED BY HR PROFESSIONALS PERCEPTIONS ON WORKPLACE ROMANCE
Reprinted with the permission of the Society for Human Resource Management, Alexandria, VA.
Companies without any restrictions on workplace romances are potential breeding grounds for sexual harassment claims, and for the creation of dysfunctional work environments. Therefore, companies are well served to consider adopting some sort of restrictions on employee romances. To address the sexual harassment risk, some companies have adopted broad "conflict-of-interest" policies prohibiting employees from engaging in any conduct that may create a conflict of interest between the employees and the companies. Other companies have decided to address the issue more directly, and have adopted policies that either ban dating between supervisors and subordinates or ban dating between employees regardless of rank or position. A few companies have taken a more "creative" approach, requiring employees involved in personal relationships to enter into so-called "love contracts" (Consensual Relationship Agreements) acknowledging that the relationship at issue is consensual and that each involved employee is aware of, and agrees to abide by, the company's sexual harassment policy, as well as outlining what the employees will do if the relationship turns sour.
The type of policy appropriate for a particular company will vary with the specific circumstances involved, including the size of the company, the industry in which it operates, and the unique culture of its workplace, to name only a few. Thus, it is key that each company carefully consider each factor relevant to determining the type of policy that best meets its needs before crafting and implementing a policy on employee relationships. Simply pulling a workplace romance policy off the shelf or the Internet and adopting it without careful consideration of each of the relevant factors is insufficient, and can be just as dangerous, if not more so, than failing to adopt any policy at all.
What should you, as an employer, do if you suspect that an office romance is in play:
1. Remember that under Utah law, absent an express or implied agreement to the contrary, employees are presumed to be employed "at-will," meaning that an employer may discharge them for no reason or any reason that is not illegal. Even in an at-will situation, however, employers are well advised to proceed cautiously and deliberately.
2. Consult your company's policy manual or handbook, if one exists, to determine whether a policy exists prohibiting the type of relationship involved (or that reasonably could be applied to the specific circumstances at hand), and whether any procedures are spelled out that should be followed.
3. Regardless of whether an applicable policy exists, take reasonable steps to learn the facts - including talking with the involved employees.
4. If the investigation appears to support a conclusion that the subject employees are involved in a prohibited relationship, consider carefully whether termination is warranted under the facts or whether some lesser disciplinary measure may be appropriate. In some instances, the course of action may be prescribed by an applicable policy. If no policy exists, or if an applicable policy does not spell out the course of action to take, you should evaluate all the available facts and circumstances and make a decision based on legitimate, articulable business reasons.
5. In making this evaluation, ask yourself what the real motivations are for taking disciplinary action against the involved employees. If that motivation is that the conduct at issue has harmed, or poses a reasonable risk of harming, the business interests of the company, then disciplinary action is probably warranted. If, however, the primary motivation to take disciplinary action is, for example, because the conduct offends your personal convictions, think twice about taking disciplinary action, as it could open you up to charges of discrimination.
6. Finally, as with any job-related decision, be even-handed as to any disciplinary actions taken and be prepared to justify the decisions made.
If you are faced with an office romance situation and have not already adopted a workplace romance policy, use the situation as an opportunity to evaluate whether you ought to have such a policy and, if so, what the precise restrictions of that policy should be in light of your unique circumstances. Love may be blind, but employers don't have to be.
For more information about the Vault surveys, visit www.vault.com.
For more information about the SHRM surveys, visit www.shrm.org.
According to a 2005 Office Romance Survey conducted by Vault, Inc., 58% of employees say they have been involved in an office romance, up 12% from the results from two years ago. These numbers are not particularly surprising in light of the amount of time employees now spend in the workplace. What is surprising, however, is how few companies have adopted a policy on office romances given the dangers such romances can pose to companies. In response to a 2002 workplace romance survey conducted jointly by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and Career Journal.com, 81% of HR professionals and 76% of executives said that workplace romances were dangerous. The same survey reports, however, that 75% of HR managers and 59% of executives who responded reported that their business had no policy on workplace romances.
Turning a blind eye to workplace romances can be a risky business. What happens when a relationship between two employees goes sour? What if the jilted employee wants a little revenge, or is simply unwilling to accept that the relationship is over? What if one of the employees is married? What about the opinions of the other employees? Many companies are hesitant to adopt employee relationship policies out of fear that they will be viewed by employees as an undue intrusion into their personal lives. The SHRM survey, however, suggests that such fears may be unfounded, finding that employees were far more likely than HR Professionals to believe that restrictions on workplace romance are positive (see chart).
RESTRICTIONS ON WORKPLACE ROMANCE REPORTED BY HR PROFESSIONALS PERCEPTIONS ON WORKPLACE ROMANCE
WORKPLACE ROMANCE: RESTRICTIONS/PERCEPTIONS | HR PROFESSIONALS (n=78) | EMPLOYEES (n=646)* |
Romance cannot/should not be between supervisor and subordinate | 64% | 70% |
Public displays of affection are/should be prohibited | 39% | 63% |
Those involved in the romance may/should not be in the same department | 31% | 49% |
Those involved in the romance must inform their supervisors of the relationship | 23% | 28% |
Romance cannot/should not be between employee and client/customer | 18% | 42% |
Those involved in the romance may/should not report to the same supervisor | 15% | 42% |
Romance cannot/should not be between employees of a significant rank difference | 12% | 40% |
Those involved in the romance may/should not work on the same projects | 12% | 49% |
Workplace romances are not/should not be permitted at our/any organization | 6% | 19% |
Romance cannot/should not be between employee and a vendor | 6% | 32% |
Romance cannot/should not be between employee and employee from a competitor | 4% | 26% |
No, there are/should be no restrictions | 14% | 21% |
Other | 15% | 5% |
Reprinted with the permission of the Society for Human Resource Management, Alexandria, VA.
Companies without any restrictions on workplace romances are potential breeding grounds for sexual harassment claims, and for the creation of dysfunctional work environments. Therefore, companies are well served to consider adopting some sort of restrictions on employee romances. To address the sexual harassment risk, some companies have adopted broad "conflict-of-interest" policies prohibiting employees from engaging in any conduct that may create a conflict of interest between the employees and the companies. Other companies have decided to address the issue more directly, and have adopted policies that either ban dating between supervisors and subordinates or ban dating between employees regardless of rank or position. A few companies have taken a more "creative" approach, requiring employees involved in personal relationships to enter into so-called "love contracts" (Consensual Relationship Agreements) acknowledging that the relationship at issue is consensual and that each involved employee is aware of, and agrees to abide by, the company's sexual harassment policy, as well as outlining what the employees will do if the relationship turns sour.
The type of policy appropriate for a particular company will vary with the specific circumstances involved, including the size of the company, the industry in which it operates, and the unique culture of its workplace, to name only a few. Thus, it is key that each company carefully consider each factor relevant to determining the type of policy that best meets its needs before crafting and implementing a policy on employee relationships. Simply pulling a workplace romance policy off the shelf or the Internet and adopting it without careful consideration of each of the relevant factors is insufficient, and can be just as dangerous, if not more so, than failing to adopt any policy at all.
What should you, as an employer, do if you suspect that an office romance is in play:
1. Remember that under Utah law, absent an express or implied agreement to the contrary, employees are presumed to be employed "at-will," meaning that an employer may discharge them for no reason or any reason that is not illegal. Even in an at-will situation, however, employers are well advised to proceed cautiously and deliberately.
2. Consult your company's policy manual or handbook, if one exists, to determine whether a policy exists prohibiting the type of relationship involved (or that reasonably could be applied to the specific circumstances at hand), and whether any procedures are spelled out that should be followed.
3. Regardless of whether an applicable policy exists, take reasonable steps to learn the facts - including talking with the involved employees.
4. If the investigation appears to support a conclusion that the subject employees are involved in a prohibited relationship, consider carefully whether termination is warranted under the facts or whether some lesser disciplinary measure may be appropriate. In some instances, the course of action may be prescribed by an applicable policy. If no policy exists, or if an applicable policy does not spell out the course of action to take, you should evaluate all the available facts and circumstances and make a decision based on legitimate, articulable business reasons.
5. In making this evaluation, ask yourself what the real motivations are for taking disciplinary action against the involved employees. If that motivation is that the conduct at issue has harmed, or poses a reasonable risk of harming, the business interests of the company, then disciplinary action is probably warranted. If, however, the primary motivation to take disciplinary action is, for example, because the conduct offends your personal convictions, think twice about taking disciplinary action, as it could open you up to charges of discrimination.
6. Finally, as with any job-related decision, be even-handed as to any disciplinary actions taken and be prepared to justify the decisions made.
If you are faced with an office romance situation and have not already adopted a workplace romance policy, use the situation as an opportunity to evaluate whether you ought to have such a policy and, if so, what the precise restrictions of that policy should be in light of your unique circumstances. Love may be blind, but employers don't have to be.
For more information about the Vault surveys, visit www.vault.com.
For more information about the SHRM surveys, visit www.shrm.org.
Copyright 2005. Published for general informational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice. If you need legal advice please consult with your attorney.