Workplace Romance: From The Company's Perspective
Jennifer Sandberg and Ann Margaret Pointer were featured in the Examiner.com article entitled “Workplace Romance: From The Company’s Perspective.”
The duo offered insight on workplace romance policies.
According to the article, employees must be prepared to follow whatever policies an employer may have in place.
“If a manager is thinking about entering into a welcome relationship with a subordinate, my advice is to think again,” said Ann Margaret. “Even if both parties welcome the relationship at the beginning, things can turn badly and costly for the employer and the individual in a heartbeat.”
Ann Margaret suggests that no one should consider entering into a casual relationship with someone in the chain of command, ever. That means anyone with whom the higher-level employee might affect in terms of pay, benefits, work opportunities, introductions to customers, clients.
The most common legal issue when two people from the same company or organization date one another is the possibility for a harassment or discrimination claim either from one of the parties involved or from another employee, Jennifer added.
“The ramifications of such a claim are increased if a supervisor or manager is in the relationship. While under some facts, a manager having a “preference” for his or her paramour may be defensible, such a relationship is still risky for the manager and the employer.” said Jennifer. “Thus, most employers have policies prohibiting a supervisor or manager from dating a non-manager within the same department of sphere of influence.”