It’s confession time with today’s post. Whether it’s just a crush or a harmless likeness for your fellow worker, how did that end up?
While we look at what office and workplace romance is, ensure you fully understand the rules guiding the extent of relationship between employees in your organization. People often ask if love and work could mix. What would be your answer to that?
What is Office Romance?
Office romance is also known as workplace romance. It is a topic that has often been debated about and still is.
This one thing holds the potential of causing distraction in the workplace, eventually giving HR headaches who’s out to balance work and life for employees.We have seen instances where office romance has produced stronger work and personal relationships between a boss and his subordinate or even between a superior and a junior worker.
Do you recall the whirlwind romance that existed between Microsoft’s Bill Gates and his ex-wife, Melinda Gates. As observed over the years and of recent time, we see that workplace romance can also lead to disaster. These disasters are exhibited through power dynamics, favouritism, and blurred boundaries leading to disruption in the workplace, gossip, and a toxic work environment. It is evident that workplace romance demands professionalism, respect, and boundaries.
Is Office Romance Acceptable?
Workplace or office romance is not a relationship that can be generalized as acceptable in all workplace environments. Having seen how much disruption it has the power to bring, organisations strictly avoid it for their employees. Some experts have seen it as a beautiful thing, while others have concluded it to be a ticking time bomb. This is why those who do not belong to either of those schools of thought see it to be somewhere in-between.
Albeit, with clear policies, open communication, and a dash of common sense, workplace romance among employees of any organization can be navigated successfully. It therefore behooves the employees involved to keep it professional, respectful, and out of the office as some suggest.
Office and Workplace Romance Among Employees
As a crucial aspect of maintaining both a positive and productive work environment, human resources play a vital role in managing office and workplace romance among employees. Human resources play a significant role in establishing and enforcing policies that promote a workplace that is inclusive and respectful. They do this while addressing matters related to conflicts of interest, harassment, or any form of favouritism.
They do these professionally by developing communication guidelines that are clear about romance in the workplace. While office and workplace romance are researched to have advantages, such as increased job satisfaction, improved morale, and enhanced teamwork, it also poses some concerns identified as risks. Harassment, favouritism, and conflicts of interest trail such acts.
These disadvantages lead to low morale among employees, decreased productivity, and lawsuits which are bad for an organisation’s reputation.Importantly, workplace and office romance blur professional boundaries, it does not allow people to respect boundaries in the workplace, thereby creating an uncomfortable environment for colleagues.
Humans as part of their responsibility to keep the company going carefully weigh the pros and cons and develop strategies to mitigate the concerns or those risks associated with workplace romance, at the same time promoting a positive and respectful workplace culture.