February is a month to celebrate love, but should romance be welcome at your workplace?
According to a recent article from the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), nearly one third of the workers surveyed are or have been romantically involved with a colleague.
Individuals who started a workplace romance or continued one during the pandemic mostly connected through in-person dates, phone calls or direct messaging.
“Workplace romances come in many different forms, too,” said Casey Sword, researcher, strategic research initiatives, at SHRM. “Some are subtler than others. For example, we found that half of workers have had a crush on a colleague, and nearly half have flirted with a colleague.”
Of course, romantic feelings can develop anywhere, so it might not be a surprise that coworkers would connect in the office. That being said, if your employees are finding romance in the workplace, it is key that you have a workplace romance policy in place to prevent harmful situations should a relationship goes awry.
The #MeToo movement prompted employers to create respectful workplace cultures with policies to prevent sexual-harassment claims and claims of hostile work environments. According to the SHRM article, some companies required employees to alert the employer of consensual relationships they were involved in at work or put restrictions on employee dating.
Does your company need help establishing a workplace romance policy? Contact Vinna Human Resources and we will share what we have learned from the current lawsuits and developing regulations. When strong policies are in place, it’s important employees at all levels understand—and follow—the proper procedures.
To read the full article, visit https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-news/Pages/Romance-Continues-to-Flower-at-Work.aspx