Are Office Relationships a Good Thing?

With Valentine’s Day approaching, love is on the minds of many people. But as people spend more of their time at work and in the office, these forlorn employees have less time for romantic pursuits. So what’s a lonely worker to do?

Well, if that worker is a Millennial, he or she might be making those pursuits in the office. A 2012 study by Workplace Options found that 84% of Millennials had no problems with dating a co-worker, while only 29% of people aged 46 to 65 said they would do the same.

But while younger workers don’t seem to think workplace romances are a big deal, the truth is that mergers like these can have negative consequences for both the lovebirds involved and for the company at which they buzz. Consider what unrestrained passion can do:

• Fill an office with unwanted gossip
• Decrease employee morale and productivity
• Increase the incidence of sexual harassment claims
• Open up your business to lawsuits of every stripe

Yes, love is indeed a wonderful thing, but lawsuits and sexual harassment claims aren’t, and these often occur if a co-working couple breaks up. In these cases, it is imperative that companies protect themselves.

Love is all you need until it isn’t, so consider the following measures to make sure in-office relationships aren’t getting in the way of business-as-usual.

Ban Dating

Companies that adopt this policy make it clear to employees that dating another employee will result in termination. Some ban management and senior staff from dating subordinates. However the policy gets implemented, bans on romantic workplace relationships are meant to stop any complications before they arise.

But banning employee dating can be seen as alienating employees, especially if most of the workers are younger. Bans can also be difficult to enforce, since the company cannot control what people do outside of the office. On top of this, firings for dating have also resulted in wrongful-termination lawsuits, which can lead to large settlement claims.

Create a Clear Policy

Another approach is to put a clear policy in place about what types of behaviors can have a negative impact on the organization and its employees. Public displays of affection create an uncomfortable work environment for most employees.

Whatever you permit or prohibit, make sure that it is clearly covered in policies as part of an employee handbook.

Many companies skip detailed, nuanced policies in order to protect themselves from lawsuits, but this can often conflict with common sense. Use yours to determine what is best for your company and your employees.

Ask for Full Disclosure

The best approach might actually be keeping an open line of communication with those in workplace relationships. This allows managers, owners or HR departments to better understand and evaluate each relationship. It also opens the door to have a deeper discussion about what can happen if the relationship begins to affect the company or other employees, especially after a breakup.

In these situations, companies can use a waiver to document the relationship and have protection against lawsuits. Employees do have the right to legal counsel before signing such contracts, however, so keep that in mind.

In conclusion, office and work relationships do and will continue to happen. In fact, 71% of Millennials think that office dating is a positive thing that improves performance and morale. While a total ban is wise in order to avoid any potential conflicts of interest and ethical violations, in most cases the best approach is to balance the possible detrimental effects against employee wellbeing.