Romance in the office 11-43 18 Feb 2008

Office romance is becoming more and more common, but when co-workers fall in love, employers need to keep their heads, says psychologist Matthew Neale.

“Love and sex in the workplace can lead to problems such as performance issues, accusations of favouritism, blackmailing, bullying and sexual harassment,” Neale adds.
 
Studies show that 11 percent of Australians and 33 percent of Americans fall in love at the office, and this is likely to increase in the future as people spend more hours at work and in high pressure jobs.
 
Many employers struggle with the challenges posed by workplace relationships which can have significant effects on the individuals involved as well as the broader group.
 
Maintaining appropriate professional boundaries, particularly if the romance is between a supervisor and a subordinate, can often be difficult.
 
In a recent study, 70 percent of people agreed that workplace relationships led to a drop in productivity due to chatting, socialising, long lunches and lengthy discussions at work.
 
Failed workplace romances can also lead to harassment and discrimination claims.
 
“To avoid expensive harassment claims, organisations need a strong policy on handling workplace relationships,” says Neale.
 
“Given that workplace romances are likely to occur, organisations may have rules for workplace romance, rather than outlawing it entirely.”
 
These rules include having:

·         a comprehensive and enforceable harassment policy with access to an     adequate complaint procedure

·         clear policies on relationships between co-workers

·         effective supervision with supervisors properly trained to manage their     work relationships with subordinates.