Often, workplace relationships can be inevitable.
Colleagues spend a lot of their working time together and relationships are bound to happen in one form or another.
While some workplaces completely forbid work relationships, others are open to the possibility of romantic relationships developing at the workplace.
How can one handle and manage a love relationship within the same workplace place?
Try the below 5 ways.
1. Check the Company’s Policies About Romantic Relationships
Before you approach a romantic relationship, it is essential that you understand what are the work policies regarding romantic relationships at the workplace.
Depending on the policies, some human resource departments may require that contracts be signed regarding the relationship.
For example, if a relationship is between a superior and a subordinate, it is essential that a contract is signed to ensure that the relationship is not coercive and one party is not taking advantage of the other.
Sometimes the policies may require that the managers and coworkers are informed so that there is no conflict of interest as decisions are made at the workplace.
2. Create a Fraternization Policy
If relationships are not prohibited, it is essential that some guidelines are created on how to carry out relationships at the workplace.
Guidelines will inform the parties in the relationship about what is allowed and what is not allowed at the workplace.
For example, a fraternization policy may require that there is no public display of affection between the parties while they are at work to ensure that other employees are comfortable.
3. Ensure that the Parties Understand the Liability
If there are no policies regarding workplace relationships, ensure that the parties to the relationship understand the liability involved.
For example, in cases where relationships can go wrong, some members can accuse others of sexual harassment.
It is essential that HR sits the parties down once they are aware of the relationship and discuss such terms.
Signing a love contract for example will ensure that the parties declare that the relationship is consensual and issues of harassment and other liabilities that may cost the organization will not come up.
4. Carry out professionally
If the relationship is between leaders, it is essential that they carry out the relationship professionally and that the parties do not make other members of the organization uncomfortable.
Sometimes, the parties of the relationship can be conflicting among themselves and make the employees feel as if they have to pick sides.
In such situations, the parties should ensure the teams that they will address their relationships issues after work and employees should do what is good for the organization not what is good to the parties of the relationship.
5. Transfer into different departments
Where possible, parties in a relationship should work in different departments.
This way, there will be fewer chances of favoritism, making others uncomfortable, or even fights coming up at the workplace due to conflicts of interest.
In any relationship, there ought to raise some form of conflict and it would be good if it can be avoided.
One way to avoid this is to ensure that the parties are not working closely together at work.
Conclusively, the way to manage love relationships at the workplace highly depends on the policies in place about how to treat romantic relationships should they arise. All the same, relationships should be treated in such a way that they protect the parties involved and the organization as well. It should be confirmed that no one party in the relationship is being taken advantage of and that the existence of the relationship will not affect the performance of the couple and therefore will not affect the organization negatively.
The Destiny Team