Employees who break up may adversely affect productivity, and those who date may affect others in the office. That’s why it’s best to avoid mixing romance and work.
Doing a job you love is wonderful, and working in the same company with a person you like makes it even better. Exchanging looks at work gives you butterflies, so you might as well have lunch together. If this is you, know that you’re not alone. In a 2019 survey, 58% of employees said that they had a romantic relationship in the workplace. What many ignore is the employee dating policy. Why does it exist?
Workplace Romance is Discouraged
It may come as a surprise, but many companies have decided to prevent workplace romance from happening. Believe it or not, there are valid reasons to do so. While there’s no way to affect how people in the office feel about one another, business owners know that not every relationship ends up in couples living happily ever after.
Workplace romance affects employees’ personal lives, friends, family, and the company itself. People can fall in love, date, decide to get married and stay in a happy marriage.
On the other hand, if the relationship ends, people are forced to work together. But there’s more to both of these scenarios.
Marriage Can Cause Trouble
When office romance turns into marriage, people tend to forget that business secrets must remain secrets. They often bring work home and end up discussing what they shouldn’t. Confidential information mustn’t be revealed since it can violate the contract or working conditions. When a secret is shared, it’s no longer a secret, and other employees in the company might learn it too. This directly undermines the trust among departments and other colleagues and can easily affect the organization at all levels.
Breakups are Painful for Everyone
If the relationship ends, there can be tension in the workplace that everyone can sense. Couples might even fight in front of others since they still have to share a space that brought them together and is now keeping them close after a breakup. This also affects their productivity and professionalism, primarily if they work on the same project. If they keep breaking any code of conduct, both individuals may face disciplinary actions. HR will have to react to maintain productivity in the company.
Miscommunication Happens
Depending on the job position of those romantically involved, communication among them can become an additional burden. For example, if one person is in a management position, they will eventually have to provide feedback. The other person may think that feedback is biased and avoid working on correcting their behavior at work. When it comes to dating and different roles within a company, favoritism can quickly arise. The person you’re with has control over your salary or career development. Other employees are aware of this, and it results in increased tension.
The Company’s Reputation is at Stake
Workplace relationships can go so far that they can bring about sexual harassment claims. Public displays of affection make other employees feel uncomfortable, so much so that they might claim to be exposed to a hostile work environment. These claims hurt the company’s reputation and directly affect everyone involved.
Summary
Maintaining decorum at work is necessary, and dating a colleague can affect your personal and business life. There are many reasons why business owners decide to implement workplace dating policies. Employees who break up may adversely affect productivity, and those who date may affect others in the office. That’s why it’s best to avoid mixing romance and work.
Join the conversation!