As Cupid readies his arrow with Valentine's Day right around the corner, now is as good a time as any to turn our sights to one of the more confounding issues employers are confronted with in the workplace — how to manage romantic relationships among employees.
And employers have a right to be concerned.
In fact, a recent CareerBuilder survey revealed that 36% of workers admit to having dated a coworker, and 30% of office romances involve a superior. With a heightened focus on sexual harassment in the wake of the burgeoning #MeToo movement, it's more important than ever that employers have a plan in place to properly address dating in the workplace.
Striking the right balance is key when implementing the ground rules for workplace relationships. The impulse for many employers in the past has been to adopt rigid non-fraternization policies that forbade all office romances. In practice, however, such policies are difficult, if not impossible, to enforce and police evenly.
Moreover, in many instances, they may do more harm than good, causing employees to engage in secret trysts that only come to light after the relationship has ended and one (or both) of the parties claims harassment or that the relationship was not truly consensual.
In place of a blanket "no dating" policy, more and more employers are moving toward a middle ground by acknowledging the inevitability of office romances and placing specific requirements on dating in the workplace. To that end, many employers are increasingly asking employees in relationships to sign a "love contract," which is essentially a written agreement between two employees that spells out the voluntary nature of their romance.
Most love contracts will also contain provisions that affirm the relationship is consensual, acknowledge each employee is free to leave the relationship without fear of retaliation and attest that both parties fully understand the company's sexual harassment policy. In addition, many love contracts require employees to agree to keep their interactions professional while at work and notify HR if the relationship ends.
Love contracts can serve a critical function when relationships go south and one of the involved parties feels slighted. For example, one of the fundamental elements an accuser raising a sexual harassment claim must show is that alleged misconduct was unwelcome. A properly executed love contract can be a powerful piece of evidence to rebut any suggestion that a relationship was forced upon the accuser, or that the accuser was unaware of his or her obligation to report alleged sexual harassment.
Although there are several benefits to the use of a love contract, it should not be viewed as a "cure-all," nor should employers be lulled into a false sense of security. Businesses must still be cognizant of some of the practical concerns that can come along with workplace dating — such as feelings of animosity, uncomfortableness or favoritism among coworkers — that love contracts do not necessarily fix. Further, before an employer adopts the use of love contracts, careful consideration should be given to whether it fits with the organization's overall culture and philosophical viewpoint.
Whether or not employers decide to use love contracts as an extra layer of protection, the recent #MeToo movement will likely continue to draw attention to the important issue of sexual harassment in the workplace.
Employers should take this time to review their anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies for blind spots and make changes accordingly. In addition to robust anti-harassment training programs, employers may also consider adding training modules for management on how to appropriately deal with romantic relationships in the workplace. As the saying goes, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Even a single high-profile claim of harassment can have a devastating toll on a business, as many have come to find out the hard way.
Originally published in Crain's Cleveland Business.
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