Whether it's February 14 or any other day of the year—love is in the air and on the clock. Who knew workplaces were giving match-making services such a run for their money? The average full-timer spends more than a third of their waking hours at work, leaving little dating to meet people anywhere else.
To open the dating of communication with your employees and stay ahead of potential workplace dating issues, you need to establish clear guidelines, but what should your policy look like? And the consequences can cause major headaches for HR, including:.
Romance in the workplace: Risks and solutions
Explicit workplace dating policies may be the best way to proactively protect your company and employees from heartbreak. This template includes everything employees dating to know before dating a coworker, including guidelines for disclosure and conduct, to protect https://search-by-image.info/vladigal-onlyfans.php company culture and the safety of your workplace.
No matter your personal opinions on the subject, no business can escape the for-better-or-worse inevitability of workplace romance. HR should be prepared to address it.
The Importance of Having a Workplace Relationships Policy
Policy helps you do that proactively and generally click the following article covers your bases as you take a case-by-case approach. Beyond setting boundaries around managers and subordinates, a workplace dating policy that covers all your bases should also include:.
Disclosure allows you to assess potential conflicts of interest and take appropriate action, usually moving couples out of the same department or working arrangements, adjusting schedules, or removing employees from power-imbalanced situations i. To encourage disclosure, foster a culture of open communication and make the process of disclosure easy and nonthreatening. Specify that all relationships require disclosure the moment they turn romantic. Emphasize that all relationships must be consensual and free from any form of coercion or harassment.
Encourage your employees to report any instance of non-consensual behavior promptly and outline clear processes for doing so. Many of your employees may wonder if merely asking a coworker on a date is harassment. Your dating policy may summarize or link to your non-discrimination and anti-harassment policies to clarify when boundaries are being crossed. Clearly define expectations for professional behavior employee the workplace.
This includes maintaining professionalism during work hours and on work premises, refraining from public displays of affection or behaviors that could make colleagues and clients uncomfortable, and avoiding conflicts of interest. A couple of our interviewees felt that basic conduct policies should be enough to cover any issues that may arise from romantic relationships in the workplace and that a strict workplace dating policy would be a sign of HR overreach. Depending on your company culture, this may be the case. Consider getting input from your employee community to craft a policy that aligns with your culture and values.
Stress the importance of maintaining confidentiality regarding personal relationships. Employees should never share sensitive information about their partners or colleagues with others. A psychologically safe work environment is priceless— and profitable —and should be protected at all costs. Outline the potential consequences for violating the workplace dating policy, which may include disciplinary action, reassignment, or termination, depending on the severity of the violation.
A generous open-door policy and a non-judgmental attitude will go a long way in persuading employees to bring issues to you early and openly, making your job easier in the long run.
Signs of inappropriate work relationships to look out for include:. A few of our interviewees shared their experiences dealing with romantic relationships in the workplace. Here are a few stories that stood out, examples of how those situations were handled, and advice to HR on handling similar situations.
The supervisor persisted, and the employee soon reported him for sexual harassment, providing HR with text messages and other information as evidence. And make sure they understand they should never be making a subordinate feel uncomfortable. An HR manager in the UK shares a story about a married couple who worked as peers in the same area for many years. All was bliss until the relationship broke down and ended in divorce. Even when workplace relationships are going well, public displays of affection can land employees dating hot water. However, in the event that the couple's behavior remains an issue, HR would then intervene with a next-level conversation about repercussions.
The situation highlights the importance of employees cooperating with policy as much as possible, and the awkwardness noncompliance creates for everyone involved. Contradiction is as human as romance, and human resources professionals are tasked with navigating these gray areas with policy, best practice, and data as their compass.
Free Download: Employee Dating Policy Example
Tory Mair, Sr. We want to avoid perceived or explicit favoritism or conflicts of interests, and policy allows a company to proactively address concerns before they occur. It may seem like a great idea when things are going well, but some relationships end badly. I encourage employees to think about what they'd do if this happens. In short, love may be employee battlefield, but knowledge is power, and if employee employees are educated about the proper ways to pursue a workplace romance, their employee experience and employee will be protected alongside your company.
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