Workplace romances are all too common. Everybody knows someone that has either met their current spouse/partner at work, are currently dating someone they work with or have dated someone at work at one time or another during their career — whether the relationship was made public or not. In fact, through a September 2013 survey completed by the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), it was determined that 1 in 4 employees have been or currently are involved in a workplace romance. Other surveys suggest that to be a higher number, closer to almost half of all workers, but either way, it is something that happens on a regular basis at every company. The survey also found that companies with 1-499 employees have a higher percentage of workplace romances than companies with over 500 employees.
It is human nature to build relationships with people that you spend a lot of time with each day. This happens particularly often in a workplace setting because employees share a common day-to-day experience, along with everything else. People at work can relate to each other, understand what each other do and the situations that they encounter. Having someone that understands you, is comfortable working with you and is in close proximity to you provides an easy opportunity to build not only romantic relationships but also friendships and personal relationships that spill outside of the workplace. Depending on the job and the company, some people may spend more time with certain co-workers because of work obligations than they do their family or friends. Unfortunately, workplace romances are also responsible for a high percentage of affairs among married workers.
Although the number of workplace romances hasn’t changed much over the years, what has changed are the number of companies that are addressing the issue and implementing policies around dating and personal relationships in the workplace. The SHRM survey stated that 99% of the companies in the survey have policies that do not allow personal relationships between a manager and subordinate, in particular, but also address co-worker dating. But why would a company care about an employee’s personal relationship? Because when employees are in a personal or romantic relationship at the same company, the company is the one that faces the liability and burden associated with the relationship should it go bad or not be managed properly in the workplace. The liability for a company includes the potential for claims of sexual harassment, retaliation if the romance ends, real or perceived favoritism by other co-workers of the couple involved in the office romance, potential for the sharing of confidential company information between the couple involved, and legal action being taken against the company. Not only are there a number of legal ramifications associated with workplace romances, but there are also effects on the workforce and bottom line of the company due to the lower productivity of the couple involved in the romance, lower morale among the co-workers associated with the couple involved as well as office gossip about the relationship.
It is important for companies to be aware of and address romantic relationships in the workplace but to not create an environment that will make employees lie and/or hide their relationship. Rather, be transparent in your communication about workplace romances upfront and be clear about the policy and responsibility of the employees involved. It is going to happen anyway, so focus on managing and ensuring the affect the relationship has on business operations and the employee(s) ability to continue to focus on his or her job. How in-depth or not a company chooses to go with the policy regarding personal relationships in the workplace is up to them, but as with any policy, consistency, relevancy and clear communication of expectations are key.