Mixing business with romance
M any married couples I know met at work. Many companies I know do not permit married couples or relatives to work for the same company. And so one of the partners will have to move out or be transferred to another company subsidiary.
Yet there are still business organizations that permit their employees to get married and work together as a couple. They foster this “family” relationship and the results are very encouraging. Though they do have to move the spouse to another department. There must be a reason behind this and I will expound later.
However, when workplace affairs go wrong, the collateral damage can be significant. Look at tabloid scandals as they feature juicy pieces of gossip or actual stories of relationships happening between colleagues or clients in the workplace.
The office today has become a focal point in the lives of more and more people, who are driven with an ever-increasing pressure to spend more time in it and produce more results in the fastest possible time. Others have to travel far, stay in hotels (some with a limited travel budget) when attending a business conference or making a sales pitch to potential clients.
What happens after work leads to a lot of unintended consequences. There is the celebration of landing an account, and a team party after the workday laced with alcoholic drinks, such that the workplace becomes a breeding ground for romance and affairs.
When affairs happen in the workplace the rumor mill whirs into action. People begin gossiping. The rumors increase in mileage and coverage, especially if the affair involves a senior and junior member of staff, which causes tremendous problems. There will be allegations of favoritism and discrimination; tension may even affect the team’s morale and productivity.
This is why, even though people who meet in the workplace get married, for the sake of maintaining objectivity and preserving team morale, it becomes imperative that one of the partners be transferred to another location.
Employers are uncomfortable when it comes to this. They must tread lightly between interfering with the private lives of their employees and protecting their business interests. The easiest thing to do is to have an outright ban, but then, history bears out the fact that the concerned parties will often carry on in secret, which leads to bigger problems. Other companies require that such relationships are to be declared so that appropriate action can be taken that would both protect the employees’ private affairs as well as maintain decorum and protect the interests of the business.
Once the relationship comes out into the open, there is no more fun in gossiping about something that is already common knowledge. Extramarital affairs are the trickiest and the most explosive. This always involves complex emotions for the couple. It also attracts the juiciest gossip, and when this happens to senior leaders, people can almost always expect that the trust and respect level for them quickly erodes.
The most ideal is to remember that business is business and personal affairs are always personal. Having affairs in the workplace could simply be described with one word: “inappropriate.” And anything that lacks propriety is akin to a lack of professionalism.
Proximity oftentimes breeds relationships. Spending so much time together, sharing work victories and suffering together foster deep relationships that might lead to something more than just work-related.
Keep the work relationship at its highest professional level. Keep personal affairs personal, as there are more appropriate occasions and locations for these. Know your company policy because you may be unwittingly violating it by indulging in a romantic activity with a colleague.
Weigh your career risks and find out if you are willing to take the risk. And here is probably the most important advice: any PDA, or public display of affection in the workplace, is outright distasteful and viewed as a violation of office decorum and professional courtesy.
Mixing the two is not good for business and the relationship.
They just don’t mix.
Single/ Single Season 2 is an advocacy project of The Philippine STAR in partnership with Cinema One and made possible by Metrobank, Sunlife, Avida, McDo, Ford, KremTop and Cebu Pacific. It airs on Cinema One every Sunday at 10PM, with replays every Wednesdays at 8:30PM and Saturdays at 9PM.
For the full episode review, check out page D-4 of the Entertainment Section. You may also catch-up the entire Season 1 as well as the latest aired episode on philstartv.com.
‘ Keep the work relationship at its highest professional level. Keep personal affairs personal, as there are more appropriate occasions and locations for these.’