Dealing With Romance in the Office Essay

Introduction

Romance in the workplace is a common phenomenon attributed mainly to the recent influx of women into the labor force. As a result, the increase in the number of women workers, has led to more women working alongside men in industries and offices.

Prior to 1950, “women constituted less than 30% of the workforce but up until 2003, many of the new additions to the labor force have been women” (Kaufman, and Hotchkiss 87). In addition, the average number of hours spent in the workplace is higher when compared to the time employed people spend with family.

This means that workers spend on average more time at work than at home with their family members. Furthermore, fewer people take vacations or sick leaves meaning that majority of the labor force work throughout the year (Kaufman, and Hotchkiss 91). The more time workers spend in their workplace the less time they have with their family and friends at home.

The high amount of time spent in workplaces coupled with the fact that labor force constitutes of mixed gender often influences human emotions giving rise to workplace romance. Various relationships arise from workplace romance including relationships between co-workers, between subordinates and between supervisors and subordinates. These relationships often have significant consequences with regard to worker’s productivity.

The primary concern of most employers over office romance is that in addition to affecting worker productivity, it has the potential of resulting into lawsuits over sexual harassments. Therefore, employers often strive to prevent relationships that have the potential of resulting into lawsuits.

Employees on the other hand would pursue their interests so long as there is no risk of losing their work. Moreover, it is important to protect the employer’s interests, which includes improving worker’s productivity and morale while avoiding lawsuits and the employee’s interests of right to privacy in their lives is important. Such policy would eliminate sexual harassment or conflicts while regulating workplace romance

The Interests of the Employer

In workplace romance, both the employer and the employee endeavor to protect their interests. The employers normally prevent workplace relationships because they have the potential of affecting behavior in the workplace negatively and attracting lawsuits.

The employer’s interests are two-fold, business interests and legal interests. Office romance between a supervisor and a subordinate often affects worker’s productivity. This arises because of favoritism experienced involving the worker and the subordinate, which reduces the other worker’s morale (Kaufman, and Hotchkiss 95).

Although allegations of favoritism cannot amount to a legal claim, they nevertheless breed hatred particularly to the favored employee. In addition, in this kind of relationship, employee motivation and innovativeness may be affected, as they believe that the supervisor would not reward their accomplishments.

The decline in motivation translates into low worker productivity because his/her morale is infective. The employer has the responsibility of boosting workers’ morale through various motivating initiatives. Therefore, it is important that employers undertake to prevent workplace romance from affecting employees’ morale.

In an office romance involving two co-workers, the two employees may become socially isolated from the rest, which would affect their productivity. Additionally, the dating employees, even if the relationship is discreet, may waste company’s time pursuing the relationship as they neglect their tasks affecting business interests of the employer.

The employer may adopt a strict policy on office romance, to avoid legal consequences in case an employee sues for sexual harassment. Workplace sexual harassment can occur in two ways. Firstly, the employee may submit or reject sexual advances from his/her superiors, which consequently would lead to employment decisions that affect the employee.

Secondly, the employee rejection of sexual advances may result into a hostile work environment affecting the employee’s welfare and productivity. These conditions can attract a legal suit as the employee can sue over discriminatory practices (Rothstein, Craver, Schroeder, and Shoben 19). Affairs involving senior workers and their subordinates carry some legal implications that might work against the employer.

The company would divert much of its resources towards the legal process if the employee sues the supervisor. In a relationship between co-workers, one employee can sue for sexual harassment against the wishes of the other. Then, the relationship ends and the working relationship between the two employees suffer.

In a relationship involving a supervisor and a subordinate, consent is often a complex issue. The supervisor’s advances may be unwelcome but the employee may choose to consent, though involuntarily, to a sexual relationship. This normally arises if the subordinate fears losing his/her job (Rothstein et al. 21).

However, the subordinate can launch a legal claim over sexual harassment. Some employers have a policy that discourages supervisor-subordinate relationships. However, if the management notices such a relationship, the most common action is to transfer the subordinate to a different supervisor.

In this way, the subordinate can reject the supervisor’s advances without fear of losing his/her employment. In addition, it removes any potential allegations of favoritism, which usually affect the other worker’s morale. Transferring the subordinate to a different supervisor also ensures that both the supervisor and the subordinate retain their jobs while preventing potential lawsuits.

Co-workers caught in affairs attract no legal interests even though such affairs may affect negatively performance of the involved parties, thus decreased productivity. In addition, co-worker romance may negatively affect the work environment, which in turn affects the other worker’s productivity.

Co-worker relationships are common phenomena. My father runs a real estate company that deals in prime beach residential houses in South Eastern China. Recently, he discovered that two of his employees were involved in a relationship.

The two employees could spend working time together claiming that they are holding a meeting with a potential client. This affected the overall productivity of the company as the other workers felt overworked. After assessing the implications of this relationship on the company’s productivity, my father transferred one of the employees to a subsidiary company in another province. This helped to prevent potential lawsuits and promote the worker’s morale and productivity.

Legal issues in a relationship between co-workers can only arise if one of the partners decides to end the relationship while the other continues to make advances that are no longer welcome (Rothstein et al. 26). The employer can investigate any claim raised by the worker over harassment, though cautiously. If the victim fails to agree to the resolution reached, he/she can file a sexual harassment claim in court.

The interests of the Employee

Employees’ interests influence workplace romance in many ways. The employees have the right to privacy and can participate in certain off-the job activities such as smoking or drinking without fear of employment termination (Dworkin 47).

However, the employers have the legal right to terminate one’s employment for whatever reason except when the employment contract has not expired. The employees also enjoy protection against unfair dismissal based on discrimination.

In most States in the US e.g. Colorado, the employees’ right to privacy has protections except in situations where the employer has legitimate concerns over the employee’s actions (Dworkin 59). The exceptions include if the employee’s actions creates a conflict of interest or if the employee holds a sensitive managerial position, then a probe into his private life is necessary (Dworkin 62).

If an employer sues the workers involved in workplace romance, the courts would examine various factors such as whether a conflict of interest exists, effect of the relationship on duty performance, the effect of the relationship on the co-workers and the employee’s public and private behaviors.

However, the court may require that the employer provide a proof of negative effects caused by the office relationship. In addition, off-workplace relationships between co-workers that have no effect in the workplace do not involve the court’s action.

In a supervisor-subordinate relationship, the other co-workers often accuse the supervisor of favoritism. The perceived favoritism lowers employee morale and affects productivity as the workers develop a sense of inequity in the organization.

It is important that supervisors and managers treat the workers in a fair and equitable manner to boost their productivity. The employers should encourage discreetness in relationships between supervisor and a worker or between co-workers in order to reduce perceptions of inequity by the other workers.

Ways of Dealing with Office Romance

While regulating office romance is necessary in any organization, employers should balance between employer and employees’ interests. The employer can control office romance through policies, corporate culture and through performance outcomes.

The employer can put in place policies that prohibit office romance. In addition, the employer should ensure that the workers are aware of the possible consequences of failing to adhere to the policy statutes (Kaufman, and Hotchkiss 98)).

The employer may opt for a strict policy that prohibits workplace romance, or take a less strict approach for tolerance of workplace romance so long as it does not affect productivity, or lead to lawsuits. Alternatively, the employer can decide to adopt no policy regarding workplace romance. However, this may have implications on the overall performance of the organization.

Stricter policies have many advantages as they discourage office romance and communicate the sanctions of engaging in such relationships. Thus, the employees are well aware of the dangers of engaging in office romance and can choose to be romantically involved at their own risk.

Strict policies can also act as a defense, which the employer can use in case of lawsuits over sexual harassment. However, strict policies infringe on the employees right to privacy. A lenient approach on the other hand, is a more convenient way of dealing with office romance because it addresses the interests of both the employer and the employee.

Most lenient policies discourage supervisor subordinate relationships, which have the potential of breeding favoritism, but do not regulate relationships between co-workers.

Corporate culture is another way an employer can discourage office romance without involving written laws or policies. Under corporate culture, the workers/company label office romance as an unprofessional behavior that workers should not engage in.

Corporate culture ensures that workers adhere to professional ethics without being compelled to do so by written laws (Kaufman, and Hotchkiss 102). Employees with intentions of progressing in the corporate ladder would not engage in office romance, as this would taint their reputation.

Cultivating corporate culture in an organization would discourage office romance and at the same time ensure that workers involved in romance exercise discretion. A no policy approach presents a big problem especially when handling a sexual harassment claim.

In case office romance exists, the employer can decide to conduct a performance review involving the two employees. In this way, the employer can be able to determine the effect of the relationship as the performance outcomes reflect.

In case of negative performance outcomes, the employer may disapprove of the employee’s behavior or reproach him/her in order to improve the outcomes. However, positive performance outcomes may result if, for example, the employee is striving to get the affection of the other worker particularly during the start of a relationship. In the process of trying to impress a co-worker, productivity of the employee improves.

Implementing policies that regulate office romance promotes worker productivity and reduces employer liability. However, most importantly, controlling certain behaviors in the workplace would prevent workplace romance. The employer should control explicit sexual behaviors, which have the potential of resulting into a relationship. In addition, the employer by extension should control out of work romance as this can affect workplace performance.

Conclusion

In any organization, the employer’s primary focus is to improve worker’s productivity and while avoiding lawsuits arising from office romance. Employees on the other hand would want fairness in the workplace and respect to their privacy.

However, given that workplace relationships affect their productivity, control of workplace romance is necessary. Strict company policies conflicts with the interests of both the employee and the employer as they might force him/her to dismiss a good employee involved in office romance. Therefore, a lenient approach, which caters for the interests of both the employer and employee, is the most appropriate way of dealing with office romance.

Works Cited

Dworkin, Tim. “It’s My Life-Leave Me Alone: Off-the-job employee associational Privacy rights”. American Business Law Journal 35.2 (1997): 47-62.

Kaufman, Barry, and Hotchkiss, Jamie. Economics of Labor Markets. Boston: South- Western College Publishers, 2003.

Rothstein, Martin, Craver, Bruce, Schroeder, Ellen, and Shoben, Wrights. Employment Law. St. Paul, London: West Group, 1999.