HR Management and Workplace Romance Policies

Introduction

The quality of effort that employees put forward in order to achieve maximum effectiveness and productivity for a company is certainly reflective of their skills, the training they received, their understanding of the company's mission, and their dedication to that mission. However, employees' on-the-job performance is also a reflection of the competency of the human resources department. In large part, HR professionals are the drivers who map out the journey by knowing the policies and laws, start the engine by hiring and training employees, and steer the company through or around whatever hazards lie ahead toward its destination and goals.

If HR professionals stumble, the company falters. That the HR department is pivotal, no one will disagree; but precisely how the HR department administers fairness and justice — while following ethical considerations and the law, yet trying to remain flexible — is where the rubber meets the road in HRM dynamics. In cases involving romance in the workplace, when it comes down to policy, the HR department can sink or swim, and the water is always choppy and deep. Enlightened HR management professionals should not establish policies that ban workplace romance simply out of fear of litigation resulting from sexual harassment claims.

I have had a romantic relationship with a co-worker and have been disciplined because of that relationship. We tried to keep it a secret, and we both conducted ourselves properly while at work, rarely speaking to one another except for work-related reasons. I do not think my supervisor or the company president truly understood the rules or how to handle the situation; as a result, I was transferred to another department and told that I could not date the person I had fallen in love with. I was shocked that the company could dictate what I did on my own time. That experience is one of the reasons this course has been both interesting and informative, and my reflective ideas are based in part on it. When you mix love with employment, many unexpected feelings and consequences can result.

This course has opened my eyes, from an academic perspective, to the many aspects — some legal, some company policy-based — that are important to a company's operations. Learning about deeper issues within the HRM field is fascinating, but sometimes frustrating as well, as I will explain further as the paper unfolds.

The Role of HR Professionals in the Workplace

Federal regulations and labor laws, civil rights and affirmative action guidelines, and safety and health issues are all part of the HR workplace landscape. The more comprehensively a potential employee understands those important aspects of a career, the less time he or she will spend wondering what happened when a door slams shut — or never opens to begin with. That said, while it is important that jobseekers understand the rules of the road, it is far more crucial that the HR department knows those rules thoroughly. The HR professional must navigate federal, state, and local laws and ordinances relating to fairness in hiring practices and workplace supervision. One or two clumsy mistakes, or a single key blunder because a company policy was overlooked, can produce serious ramifications for both the HR employee and the company. The pressure on HR directors is enormous.

As HR consultant and author Susan Strayer explains, on any given day an HR employee relations professional might be having a heart-to-heart conversation with a disgruntled employee who has been placed on an improvement plan. That same afternoon, the employee relations professional may be meeting with a woman who recently broke up with her boyfriend — another company employee — and is now uncomfortable working in the same department. Is she being treated fairly? Is her ex-boyfriend harassing her? Is a company policy forbidding employee dating unfair? Is it illegal to attempt to ban employee dating? What role does the union play?

One of the principal goals of an HR professional is "zero lawsuits," Strayer explains (Strayer, 2005, p. 115). Resolving issues at the "ground level before they escalate" is vital for the HR staff person assigned to employee relations. The responsibilities of the employee relations professional are substantial, but the issues surrounding romance in the workplace often carry even greater weight, are frequently convoluted and confusing, and may require handling by experienced members of the legal department.

Workplace Romance: Trends and Productivity Effects

Robert Mathis and John Jackson assert in their book that "the greatest areas of HR responsibilities are worker compensation and health and wellness programs" (Mathis et al., 2007, p. 457). Surely the emotional health and social wellness of an employee with a broken heart falls within that context. The facts regarding romance in the workplace are clear: over 80 percent of employees in the U.S. have had "some type of a romantic relationship at work," according to an article in the International Journal of Business Research (Appelbaum et al., 2007, p. 31). The authors argue that there are reasons for the "increased frequency" of office romance; one noticeable reason is that more women are entering the workforce. The U.S. Department of Commerce reported that between 1970 and 1980, the percentage of females in executive, administrative, and managerial positions jumped from 17% to 38%; in pharmacy the figure rose from 12% to 24%; and in operations and systems research and analysis, the percentage of women rose from 11% to 28% (Appelbaum et al., p. 32).

Add to that the fact that employees are spending more time in the workplace, and it becomes understandable why workplace romance is increasingly inevitable. Appelbaum reports statistics indicating that the average workday for workers aged 25 to 54 — for both paid and unpaid work — increased from 8.2 hours to 8.6 hours between 1986 and 2005. Employees spend "the majority of their waking hours" at work, and the workplace is therefore becoming "a natural dating service" — a "potential hub for romantic involvement" — because people "tend to be more attracted to those like themselves" and at work they have repeated exposure to one another (Appelbaum et al., p. 32).

There are both positives and negatives associated with romance in the workplace. Recent research reveals that romance can have an "enhancing" effect on the quality and quantity of work output. "Maintaining an appropriate distance while feeling attracted to one another" can produce a kind of stimulation that "increases productivity" (Appelbaum et al., p. 33). One research project found that 17% of males and 15% of females surveyed reported increases in productivity. On the other hand, "boss-subordinate" or "hierarchical" relationships tend to "impede the productivity of participants and their peers" (Appelbaum et al., p. 33).

Conclusion

Appelbaum, Steven H., Marinescu, Ana, Klenin, Julia, and Bytautas, Justin. (2007). Fatal attractions: The (mis)management of workplace romance. International Journal of Business Research, VII(4), 31–43.

Boyd, C. (2010). The debate over the prohibition of romance in the workplace. Journal of Business Ethics, 97(2), 325–338.

Mathis, Robert L., and Jackson, John H. (2007). Human resource management. Florence, KY: Cengage Learning.

Pierce, Charles A., and Aguinis, Herman. (2009). Moving beyond a legal-centric approach to workplace romances: Organizationally sensible recommendations for HR leaders. Human Resources Management, 48(3), 447–464.

Strayer, Susan. (2005). Vault guide to human resources careers. New York: Vault, Inc.