Keep Cupid Under Control - Office Romance 911!

It's almost Valentine’s Day and love is in the air.  While co-workers might be struck by Cupid’s arrow, employers have to be mindful of the potential for those lovely unions to spark not just fireworks, but also possible harassment claims in the workplace.  Valentine’s Day may present an opportunity to re-educate employees about how to behave if they find themselves becoming involved in an office romance.  This should be part of the EEO/anti-harassment training that employees regularly receive.  Office hook-ups are rife with liability risks for employers.  Here’s how employers can manage them.

Be Proactive  – Continue to communicate workplace policies against sexual harassment.  These policies should also explain procedures for reporting a complaint and the consequences of prohibited behavior.

Problems can also arise when one employee’s affection is not returned. Employees should understand that it’s probably permissible to ask a co-worker on a date, but if the co-worker declines, leave him/her alone.  One person’s view of ardent courtship could be another person’s definition of stalking, i.e., harassment.  Training should address this scenario as well.

Be Aware of Relationships Between Supervisors and Subordinates - These relationships expose employers to great liability.  They can lead to resentment among co-workers who feel that the employee dating the manager gets favorable treatment.  If the relationship doesn’t end well, there may be claims from the subordinate that he or she was coerced or pressured into the relationship or otherwise sexually harassed.

Consider creating a policy that either prohibits these relationships or will modify reporting relationship between the supervisor and employee. If you can’t change the reporting structure, the employer should consider a “love contract” where the supervisor agrees not to be a part of any employment decisions affecting the subordinate.

Be Sensitive to What's Going on in Your Workplace – Even though you might not want to interfere with a personal issue, don’t hesitate to address that "personal issue" if it interferes with the professional environment.  If the effects of the relationship can be felt in the workplace, the relationship may no longer be a "personal issue." Even if the romance is going well, your employees should remain mindful to maintain standards of professional conduct at all times.

Bottom Line

You might be tempted to try to prevent potential problems arising from office romances by prohibiting office romances, but that won’t keep these relationships from happening.  You’ll just be stuck with having to enforce or ignore an unmanageable workplace policy. Also, you really don't want to be the Love Police!!  Remember these takeaways instead:

• Review your EEO/anti-harassment policies to insure that they are up to date.  
• Continue to train and educate your employees on appropriate workplace conduct and anti-harassment policies.  
• Make sure that you have informed your employees what to do if they or a co-worker feels harassed or if they have been subjected to or witnessed inappropriate behavior at work. 

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