NEW YORK (AP) β The minefield that co-workers and companies navigate when it comes to love at work has gotten even more complex following the recent flood of sexual misconduct allegations roiling Hollywood, politics and the media.
Office relationships that might have flown under the radar β particularly those between boss and subordinate β are getting a new look. And even those who might be looking to ask a co-worker on a date are thinking twice.
βPeople need to think hard before they enter into a workplace romance,β said Pennell Locey, a human resources expert at consulting firm Keystone Associates, who knows how complicated love can get in the workplace: She married a co-worker.
βOne positive thing coming out of this is people are getting educated about what are the boundaries you should be conscious of,β she added. βIt kind of takes if off autopilot.β
The office is one of the most popular places to find a lover. One out of four β 24 percent β of employees reported they have been or are currently involved in a workplace romance, according to a survey by the Society for Human Resource Management.
Increasingly organizations are implementing a written or verbal policy on workplace romance β 42 percent in 2013 versus 25 percent in 2005, according to the most recent data available from the society. Most rules outlaw relationships between bosses and subordinates or push for βlove contracts,β where workplace couples are required to disclose their relationships.
But some people ignore the rules.
βYou can have a handbook and a policy and theyβll ignore everything in there, including the CEO on down,β said Joanne P. Lee, a vice president at N.K.S. Distributors in New Castle, Delaware, and who has worked in human resources for 35 years. βSometimes they think, βOh, this doesnβt pertain to me.β And I think thatβs what got everyone in trouble.β
Workplace romances have long played a part in pop culture, whether in the films βBroadcast News,β β³Working Girl,β β³Anchormanβ and βLove Actually,β or on TV shows like βMad Men,β β³Cheers,β β³The Office,β and βMoonlighting.β One top song this holiday season is Garth Brooksβ βUgly Christmas Sweaterβ with a line about βthat pretty little girl from accounting.β
In the real world, workplace relationships have been for better, and worse: Bill Gates met his wife Melinda at the office. Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick landed in prison because he lied under oath about his extramarital affair with a staffer.
The propriety of consensual work relationships is getting renewed attention this week, after PBS announced it was suspending TV host Tavis Smiley following an independent investigation by a law firm, which uncovered βmultiple, credible allegations of conduct that is inconsistent with the values and standards of PBS.β His showβs page at PBS was scrubbed on Thursday. Smiley responded to the allegations on Facebook, saying PBS βoverreactedβ and calling it βa rush to judgment.β
βIf having a consensual relationship with a colleague years ago is the stuff that leads to this kind of public humiliation and personal destruction, heaven help us,β he said. βThis has gone too far. And, I, for one, intend to fight back.β
Office relationships may grow more secretive if there is a knee-jerk reaction to try to outlaw all office romance, said Amy Nicole Baker, a psychology professor at the University of New Haven who has studied the topic.
βWe know from at least my work and some other peoplesβ work that if you try to stamp out consensual attraction in the workplace, you just drive it underground,β she said.
The experts say workplace romances β always fraught, risky propositions β have only gotten more anguished following the uncovering of abuses at offices nationwide. βSaturday Night Liveβ recently featured a skit with an overwhelmed HR manager reminding everyone of the rules.
Joshua Lybolt can understand why companies are responding aggressively to new allegations, but he also understands workplace relations: He founded Lifstyl Real Estate in Crown Point, Indiana, with his wife, Magdalena, the same year they were married.
βFrom an employer standpoint, I think theyβre probably taking it too far, but I understand that from a risk-management issue, they want to mitigate conflict as much as possible,β he said.
He said itβs just good policy to keep relationship issues out of the workplace. His company, which employs another married couple, has avoided problems, but βwe all know how relationships can turn.β Just to be safe in his own marriage, he and his wife eventually started working from different offices.
