Romance :: Romance in the Office a Common Occurence

When employees become romantically involved, there can be potential drawbacks. romance can be ever present within the workplace and may be no further away than the next desk. And while to some, workplace romances may seem harmless, they, in fact, can lead to serious problems.

When Valentine?s Day rolls around each year, romance is in the air.

However, romance can be ever present within the workplace and may be no further away than the next desk. A 2006 study by the Society for Human Resource Management found that as many as 40 percent of workers had had an office romance.

And while to some, workplace romances may seem harmless, they, in fact, can lead to serious problems, says Charles A. Pierce, an associate professor of management in the Fogelman College of Business and Economics at the University of Memphis, whose research interests include workplace romance and sexual harassment.

The most obvious downside to workplace relationships is that they can lead to sexual harassment claims, Pierce says, adding there have been more than 50 federal and state workplace romance-sexual harassment legal cases since 1980. And that?s not mentioning the far greater number of claims that have been handled internally without ever going to court.

The development of interpersonal relationships at work is inevitable. After all, many men and women spend most of their weekday hours together. And, the office remains one of the best places where employees can find a potential mate who shares similar life goals and attitudes.

Vault.com, an on-line job site, conducted a study that found that 40 percent of the respondents said they met their future spouse at or through work.

However, some relationships can spell disaster for a workplace. Those include extramarital affairs and a romance between a boss and subordinate. They can disrupt the office, harm teamwork and lower morale. To many co-workers, an affair violates their ethical values and they may feel morally compromised if asked to cover for adulterous colleagues.

Charges of favoritism, including overlooking shoddy work or a promotion, can result if a supervisor is carrying on a relationship with someone who works directly for him or her.

Amy Nicole Salvaggio, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Tulsa, has conducted a study of nearly 200 full-time workers in a variety of workplaces and preliminary findings indicate that most respondents do not mind seeing a romance develop between two unmarried colleagues.

Leave a Comment