Executive Eye
Auch am Arbeitsplatz macht die Liebe nicht halt, sei es in Form einer Affäre oder als Beginn einer festen Beziehung. Wie aber sollten die Beteiligten damit umgehen, um ihre Leistungsfähigkeit und Karriere nicht zu beeinträchtigen?
Adrian Furnham on workplace romances
How should corporations cope with corporate cupid? Is sex at work a matter for HR policy? Should, or indeed can, one try to legislate matters of the heart or hormones? Should workplace romances be dealt with in an open, adult way or made taboo? Workplace romances are inevitable. People with similar education, interests and values are recruited to organizations. And if they spend eight or more hours a day together, it’s no surprise that attractions develop. So, why shouldn’t the office be a good place to find a partner?
The argument goes that workplace romances can and do have an impact on organizational dynamics, which, in turn, affect outcomes — productivity, morale, efficiency. Senior people can lose the plot, take their eye off the ball, compromise their integrity. New channels of unofficial communication can be opened up and closed down. The appointment of favoured sexual partners can seriously affect how people perceive the transparency and justice of a selection process or promotional system.
Two criteria define workplace relationships. One is hierarchy and the other is the openness of the relationship. The combination of these factors gives four groups. So, you could get two journalists openly living together, the head of sales openly dating a team member, two board members keeping an affair hush-hush and a married CEO bedding his secretary.
There is some evidence that job performance goes up among those in same-level relationships, but goes down in hierarchical relationships. And the theory is that a lot of energy is wasted in trying to keep close relationships secret.
But there are other factors that impact job performance. The first is pretty obvious: how good is the relationship? A healthy relationship boosts morale, energy and enthusiasm. Work motivation can improve because workplace lovers’ enthusiasm for being at work increases. So, if you put pressure on a relationship, you will cause stress for individuals and reduce motivation.
But workplace relationships can cause resentment among other employees who feel, rightly or wrongly, that favouritism occurs. This could decrease the productivity and morale of those not in a workplace relationship. And the more counter-cultural romantic relationships are to an organization, the greater the problem. Workplace relationships happen, full stop. Draconian rules often lead to secrecy, rumours, gossip and false accusations. Being open, grown-up and sensible is the best strategy.