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Office Romance

Information and sample office-romance policies.
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A-Z Office Romance Provider Directory
1-9 | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
A
Dating
Frequently asked questions and answers from the AHI Employment Law Resource Center.
www.ahipubs.net
Dating Among Employees
Sample problems and solutions from the AHI Employment Law Resource Center.
www.ahipubs.net
C
Office Romances: Explore the Web
Directory of office romance resources from Legal Cafe.
www.courttv.com
E
Dating Game Moves to the Workplace
Article by Ethan A. Winning.
www.ewin.com
Romance at Work- Love is the Only Thing That's Blind
Article by Ehtan A. Winning.
www.ewin.com
J
Damage control after affair won’t be easy
Article from Joan Lloyd & Associates.
www.joanlloyd.com
Dealing with the office affair
Article from Joan Lloyd & Associates.
www.joanlloyd.com
Mixed signals on office romance
Article from Joan Lloyd & Associates.
www.joanlloyd.com
Tips on dealing with office romance
Article from Joan Lloyd & Associates.
www.joanlloyd.com
M
Cupid's bows and arrows heat up the workplace
Article by Sherri Pfeil, from Employment Review Online.
www.magportal.com
Tom Brown: Management General, Office Romance
Tom Brown is the editor of Management General , based in Louisville, KY.
www.mgeneral.com
S
Workplace Friendships or Office Romance, by Jan Yager, Ph.D.
Site contains information about workplace friendships and office romance.
www.selfgrowth.com
W
The Seven Deadly Sins - Emotions in the Workplace
Article by Pamela Redmond Satran, Women.com
www.women.com
OSHA Safety Manuals
$249-Customized to your company in MS Word. Download Now.
www.safetymanualexperts.com
OSHA Safety Manuals
$269-Customized to your company in MS Word. Free training kit.
www.safetymanualpro.com
Customized Safety Manuals
OSHA Compliant Safety Manuals Printed with free CD copy.
www.safetyservicescompany.com

Guide to Office Romance

A well-crafted policy defining sexual harassment helps prevent lawsuits


It starts with a glance, a compliment, a smile. Flirting over the water cooler leads to lunches, provocative e-mails and before long, you're in the middle of a hot romance. Or perhaps two of your employees are dancing with Cupid.

Before you turn a blind eye and ignore the lovebirds – or before you indulge in dating an employee or subordinate yourself - remember these three guidelines to stay out of trouble:

  1. It's hard to enforce a no-dating policy – but a clearly written policy in an employee manual can shield you from future legal snafus.
  2. Understand the difference between giving compliments and harassing someone.
  3. Tread carefully, as sexual harassment complaints in small companies are on the rise


Action Steps

The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Know what the law says about sexual harassment Sexual harassment is not just about undesired glances, comments or advances. A court ruling in California, for example, allows employees to sue for sexual harassment if they can prove the boss had an affair with someone he or she promoted.

I recommend:  Inform yourself and your employees with low-cost, plain-English training booklets on sexual harassment from Business & Legal Reports. These inexpensive answers could save your business a lot of time and trouble later on.

Write a clear policy on office romance While you can't legislate love, you can spell out what's acceptable at your workplace and what isn't. Your corporate culture, industry and your supervisory judgment will determine if you need to develop a fraternization policy. If you do, publish it and show it to new employees as part of their orientation.

I recommend:  American Management Association has a self-study course on writing policy manuals. NFIB has guidance for preparing a small business policy.

Employ common sense in office behavior Iron-clad rule: Managers shouldn't get romantically involved with those they supervise. Others will see this as a conflict of interest, and ultimately, it can hurt the firm.

I recommend:  WorkRelationships.com offers training, consulting and a seminar on appropriate workplace behavior.

Consider an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Most romantic office trysts end – and some end messily. Help your employees cope with confidential, free counseling through your company's EAP.

I recommend:  Find an EAP professional at Employee Assistance Professionals Association.

Find out what others think about romance in the workplace Office romance is high-risk, but few human resource professionals and employees think it should be banned.

I recommend:  Read surveys to find what others think about the rewards and risks of romance at work. Vault Inc., a career information company, has thousands of surveys, including one on workplace romance in which 59 percent of managers said they would interfere only if work were compromised.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide
  • It's safer to date a peer in a different department rather than someone in your section.
  • Break up on a Friday, never on a Monday.
  • A spurned lover can file a claim of harassment – so be kind and respectful when ending the romance.
  • Being in love can result in happier employees, and that usually means increased productivity and better health.

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How-To Guide from WORK.COM

Guide author
By Mary Sit
A well-crafted policy defining sexual harassment helps prevent lawsuits.
It starts with a glance, a compliment, a smile. Flirting over the water cooler leads to lunches, provocative e-mails and before long, you're in the middle of a hot romance. Or perhaps two of your employees are dancing with Cupid. Before you ... Read more



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