Romance in the Work-Place

Most firms have policies forbidding romantic relationships in the work-place due to the fact that they may encumber productivity and cause distractions. Others may just frown upon the prospect. It is very difficult to have a one-size fits all policy, but the general rule is to try to avoid such a relationship if at all possible in this environment. Now, there are those who fail to do so and this is where much controversy may begin. Before a person considers pursuing a relationship of this nature, they should assess the actual cost of the relationship. This means that there is a 100% likelihood that the relationship will be discovered at some point. When and if this occurs, both parties will be viewed differently by both co-workers and management. Now, this is where the relationship may be subjected to various forms of suspicion. If one or both of the parties involved married, this will be a less-than favorable arrangement that the company may not want to condone and both parties may be asked to resign if it were to continue.

MARRIED ROMANCE IN THE WORKPLACE

The thrill of sneaking about is the motivating factor for some couples that may love living on the edge. These relationships are very secretive in nature and rarely come into the forum of the company unless things go wrong. The things that commonly go wrong are spouses finding out, employees informing management, or employees informing spouses. Once these relationships hit a manager's desk he or she is forced to take some kind of action, not in the moral context, but to protect the organization. There are many challenges in managing these relationships in that the context of business is rational and the context of a relationship is emotional. The emotional aspect is far more unpredictable than the rational routing of conducting everyday business. It is strongly recommended that if engaged in these types of relationship at work where either party is married, the participants should expect it to be short-lived. Most often these relationships are based on sexual desires because after being around a person you admire for several hours per day, a sense of routine sets in and parties get a feel for the individual in the context of a structured work environment.