--- title: "Trending Topic: HR Policies for Dating in the Workplace - Ahola" description: Are you dealing with workplace romances? Click through to learn how your company should handle these workplace relationships. image: https://blog.ahola.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/heart.jpg --- Start typing and press Enter to search * * # Trending Topic: HR Policies for Dating in the Workplace [Home](https://www.ahola.com/) » [News & Events](https://blog.ahola.com/trending-topic-hr-policies-for-dating-in-the-workplace) » Trending Topic: HR Policies for Dating in the Workplace [2020-02-14%2013:22:07](2020-02-14%2013:22:07) ![](https://blog.ahola.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/heart.jpg) ## Trending Topic: HR Policies for Dating in the Workplace By [ aholaadmin ](https://blog.ahola.com/author/aholaadmin)  Posted [ February 14, 2020](2020-02-14%2013:22:07)  In  [Human Resources](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/human-resources), [Trending Topic](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/trending-topic), [Employees](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/employees) - - - - - > *53% of work romances are between employees in different departments…* According to a  [**Society for Human Resource Management Workplace Romance survey**](https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/trends-and-forecasting/research-and-surveys/pages/shrm-workplace-romance-findings.aspx) of HR professionals, many employers are taking a hard look at workplace romances. More than twice as many employers (42 percent) have written or verbal policies on office romances than in 2005, when the rate was 20 percent. The survey canvassed 380 HR professionals from July 9 to 26, 2013. Most respondents (67 percent) said the number of romances among employees had remained the same over the eight-year period during which the survey was conducted. Companies realize they aren’t going to stop people from having romantic relationships, so explicit policies help them protect the organization from claims of sexual harassment, ensuring that there’s no favoritism or conflict that may hurt productivity and affect morale. Most managers know that more rigid policies are not needed — this just drives romantic interludes underground. The situation calls for careful consideration, communication and commonsense guidelines that must be communicated clearly and frequently to staff. Your policies should stress rules of decency, courtesy and etiquette in a sensible framework. Let your company’s values and principles rule — a simple set of tenets. The underlying philosophy assumes everyone is adult and can be honest and forthright. You may allow for consensual relationships but require that the more senior person involved in a romance disclose whether the relationship is between a superior and a subordinate. Some firms make their romance guidelines part of their overall diversity policy. By asking the more senior person to fess up, the company can ensure the supervisor has no input into the junior person’s workload or raises. Policies seek to avoid distractions, subpar work, adverse affects on co-workers and conflicts. Consider some of the survey’s most notable findings: - Fifty-three percent of work romances are between employees in different departments. - Nearly one-third (32 percent) are between workers of the same rank. - Nearly 1 in 6 (16 percent) can be classified as affairs because one or both people have spouses or significant others. - Fewer than 1 in 10 (8 percent) happen between a supervisor and a direct subordinate or between employees of significantly different rank, such as a CEO and a manager. - More than half the respondents said that office romances had led to marriage or a long-term relationship. Be prepared to address other problems that may arise from workplace romances: - **Potential lawsuits. **One party may claim that the relationship was not consensual and claims assault and battery, false imprisonment and defamation. If the plaintiff sues the individual and the company, it creates a potential conflict of interest between the employer and the employee and increases the cost of litigation — particularly if the employer is in a position in which the firm feels obligated to pay for a defense on behalf of the individual. - **Complaints of favoritism.** When co-workers are involved in a romantic relationship, the perception of favoritism may damage office morale. Workplace romance can lead to gossip, hurt feelings and unfair advantages. This doesn’t create a healthy work environment. Policies delineate prohibitions against the following: - Romances between employees who report to the same supervisor, or between an employee and a client or customer. - Romances between employees and competitor workers. - Public displays of affection and sharing of confidential company information between romantic partners. - Gossip among co-workers and drops in productivity from the couple and their colleagues. - Damage to the organization’s image because the pairing may be seen as unprofessional. - Threats to worker competence, demoralized co-workers, secrecy, potential conflict of interests and, worse yet, claims of invasion of privacy and sexual-harassment lawsuits. Employees are working longer hours in environments that encourage teamwork and familiarity. As work continues to become more time-consuming, less leisure time is available for outside activities, and workplace romances are becoming more common. One of the best ways to prevent any sort of harassment is to articulate in your policy that if a worker experiences any discomfort, he or she should speak to a supervisor promptly. If you need guidance establishing sound policies that address workplace romances, **[contact us today.](https://www.ahola.com/request-a-demo/)** Copyright © 2020     ### Reply a Comment ## RELATED POSTS [![](https://blog.ahola.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/qtq80-U9Y8Kl.jpeg) ](https://blog.ahola.com/key-practices-to-keep-the-workplace-safe) [Key Practices to Keep the Workplace Safe](https://blog.ahola.com/key-practices-to-keep-the-workplace-safe) [![](https://blog.ahola.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/katie-moum-o0kbc907i20-unsplash-scaled.jpg) ](https://blog.ahola.com/supreme-court-issues-historic-ruling-on-gay-and-transgender-workers) [Supreme Court Issues Historic Ruling on Gay and Transgender Workers](https://blog.ahola.com/supreme-court-issues-historic-ruling-on-gay-and-transgender-workers) [![](https://blog.ahola.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/istock-626469422-scaled-1.jpg) ](https://blog.ahola.com/5-signs-of-a-toxic-workplace-and-how-to-fix-it) [5 Signs of a Toxic Workplace and How to Fix It](https://blog.ahola.com/5-signs-of-a-toxic-workplace-and-how-to-fix-it) ## SUBSCRIBE ### Recent posts - [Professionalizing HR Without Losing Your Family Culture ](https://blog.ahola.com/professionalizing-hr-without-losing-your-family-culture) - [Why Encouraging Employees to Take Summer Vacation Benefits Your Workplace ](https://blog.ahola.com/why-encouraging-employees-to-take-summer-vacation-benefits-your-workplace) - [Ahola Named a 2026 Top Workplace — Six Years Running! ](https://blog.ahola.com/ahola-named-a-2026-top-workplace) - ### Topics - [Affordable Care Act (13)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/affordable-care-act) - [Benefits (223)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/benefits) - [Cybersecurity (1)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/cybersecurity) - [Employee Engagement (255)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/employee-engagement) - [Employees (603)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/employees) - [Family Business Insights (10)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/family-business-insights) - [Hiring (282)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/hiring) - [Human Resources (645)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/human-resources) - [Laws/Policies (26)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/laws-policies) - [Managing COVID-19 (153)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/managing-covid-19) - [News Release (56)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/news-release) - [Offboarding (3)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/offboarding) - [onboarding (7)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/onboarding) - [Payroll (428)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/payroll) - [Recruiting (142)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/recruiting) - [Safety (121)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/safety) - [Tax Compliance (230)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/tax-compliance) - [Time & Attendance (124)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/time-attendance) - [Training & Development (214)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/training-development) - [Trending Topic (75)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/trending-topic) - [Uncategorized (1)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/uncategorized) - [Webinars (69)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/webinars) - [Workers Comp (1)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/workers-comp) [see all topics](https://blog.ahola.com/trending-topic-hr-policies-for-dating-in-the-workplace#) ### GENERAL DISCLAIMER This blog is for informational and educational purposes only. 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