Lessons in Workplace Romances

From time to time the readers do me the pleasure of sending in articles worth sharing. Not all of them make it to the site, but this one was good enough and it's one that I would consider VERY necessary. DISCLAIMER: This article is for informative and educational purposes only, and should not be understood as legal advice.

Some people can find love and romance anywhere: in college, at social gatherings, in the elevator, standing in line at the store, and even at their work place. However, out of all these places to find your soul mate, the work place is one that could present possible challenges. Certainly most of us can attest to witnessing or maybe even being involved in an office romance, but several companies have particular guidelines for office dating/relationships, while other companies may outright prohibit it.

If the relationship is between an employer and employee, or a supervisor and subordinate there can be issues of nepotism. This can be a problem particularly if everyone else in the office is aware of the romance and the favoritism is obvious. This type of office romance becomes even more problematic if the relationship goes south because that can open the employer and company to claims of discrimination when the preferential treatment ceases. It could also lead to a complaint filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission if the relationship ended poorly and if one of the individuals becomes vindictive.

Even office romances between co-workers can create challenges. For instance, a dissolved office romance can seriously impact an individual’s work performance and hurt the business. Also an unsuccessful co-worker relationship, similarly to a supervisor/subordinate relationship, can result in claims of sexual harassment, which can have a tremendous impact on a company and their reputation.

As previously mentioned, a company can implement policies for office romance or can prohibit it as part of your employment agreement. Many companies have policies in their employee handbook that address office romance and may include consequences if you fail to follow those policies. While some people believe that their employer having rules about their love life is inappropriate because the employer should not enter their bedroom, such policies are a safeguard for the employer to avoid possible liability. Therefore, prohibiting office relationships or requiring employees to notify employers when such relationships occur is more of a smart business decision and less of an invasion of your personal life. Additionally, companies have Human Resource representatives available if you have questions about what you can and cannot do with your co-workers.

So before you get involved with your co-worker, be sure to familiarize yourself with your company’s policies. Finding love in the work place certainly is not worth losing your job over...

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