Sound the alarms! Ted in accounting is dating Alice in marketing! Is it HR’s job to break them up before an office romance wreaks havoc on your company?
A new survey shows office romances are a given: 40% of U.S. workers have dated a colleague with 31% going on to marriage.
If so many office romances led to marriage, can they be that bad? It might depend on how many of those marriages end up in divorce. No one has developed figures on that, yet.
In our example of Ted and Alice, you’re more likely not to have a problem than in other situations. That’s because they’re from different departments.
But when Barney starts dating his supervisor Betty, it’s a different story.
HR consultant Susan Heathfield advises companies institute a policy that prohibits a supervisor from dating any employee who reports directly to him or her. She also recommends the policy state that you expect staff members to behave professionally and that a romance can not impact the workplace negatively.
Does your company have a policy on office romances? Have you ever witnessed successful or disastrous workplace dating? Maybe you married someone from work. If so, let us know about it in the Comments Box below. And happy Valentine’s Day.
