Workplace romance is defined as a mutually desired relationship that includes physical attraction between two members of the same organization. Workplace romance is consensual and mutually welcomed (Clarke 2006). More specifically, as with other romances, workplace romances are characterized by desiring to be with the other person and feelings of emotional and physical attraction, which may lead to a sharing of personal information, mutual caring and respect, and quite likely sexual behavior such as touching, kissing and hugging, and sexual intercourse (Pierce, Byrne, and Aguinis 1996). Consensual relationship agreements, in my opinion, are a good idea for the workplace. They help ensure that even if a relationship goes bad between a person of authority and a subordinate, no one will be held legally liable. Signing a consensual relationship agreement does not cause either party to waive all of their rights regarding sexual harassment or other wrongful behavior that might evolve at a later date. However, it may include an arbitration provision. If any adversarial action is later contemplated, the matter must be resolved through arbitration proceedings and not the public court system. This has been an issue many times in the past with co-workers fraternizing with each other and later filing lawsuits because the relationship did not work out as planned. Consensual relationship agreements are just an ingenious way of protecting both parties from any legal woes that could possibly occur in the future.
In my current workplace and in any other workplace I think it is not a good idea to have a relationship with your boss. Such relationships may cast doubt on the objectivity of any supervision and evaluation provided. An individual could be an extremely good working who is actually earning any promotions that he or she is receiving from his or her boss/significant other; but the fact that the two are in a relationship outside the normal professional relationship that they have at work will be a major issue for some. Some people may feel like that person is being handed these promotions and raises due to their personal relationship with their boss. As a result, there could be turmoil in the workplace. Lawsuits of discrimination could potentially be filed and things could take a turn for the worse. Having consensual relationships with subordinates is likely to interfere with the ability of a superior to act and make decisions fairly and without favoritism. When being faced with a decision of whether or not to promote a significant other or another employee when both individuals have the same credentials and capabilities, it would be hard for a person who has a personal, romantic relationship with one of them to make a fair decision as to who best deserves the position. Even if the superior is able to avoid being biased, the other people in the workplace or learning environment are likely to see themselves as being less favored and as disadvantaged by the personal relationship. In many instances the damage can continue long beyond the actual time span of the relationship and can make people suspicious of any future professional interactions between the parties.
Even though romantic relationships in the workplace are common, employers have legitimate reasons for concern about employee dating. The biggest fear is a sexual harassment lawsuit arising from either: 1) a supervisor who has a habit of asking subordinates out on dates; 2) an employee who files a lawsuit after a consensual relationship goes sour; or 3) the perception of co-workers that a supervisor is playing favorites with his or her "significant other." Sexual harassment laws prohibit "unwelcome" sexual advances. Therefore, the participants in a truly "consensual" relationship cannot prove sexual harassment. The difficulty for the employer is proving that the relationship was consensual. Often, an employee will argue that he or she was an unwilling participant in a relationship that merely appeared to be consensual. Even a consensual relationship, if it goes sour, can result in unwelcome advances, stalking, or other predatory conduct.
In a consensual relationship between a supervisor and a subordinate, the subordinate often is the recipient of preferential treatment. Employees have asserted claims for sexual harassment based on the theory that they can't receive the same benefits because they are not "sleeping with the boss." However, most courts have rejected this argument because such a consensual relationship disadvantages both male and female employees equally. The exception, of course, is where a supervisor propositions many employees, and only those who receive preferential treatment.
Being a teacher and working in a school setting I most definitely don’t think that teachers and students should have a personal relationship. This would happen most likely at the high school and college level. To me this is a very bad idea because students look to their professors and teachers for guidance and depend upon them for assessment, advancement, and advice. Faculty–student consensual relationships create obvious dangers for abuse of authority and conflict of interest actual, potential, and apparent. When a teacher, professor, or counselor decide to have a relationship with their student or counselee it really creates a big problem. Usually the problems are most severe when a consensual relationship takes place between a teacher (e.g., teacher, professor, or teaching assistant) and the student is enrolled in one of the teacher's courses for which he or she will receive a grade, or when the student is likely to be enrolled in such a course in the future. These problems can also be very severe in a counseling setting between counselors and counselees. Both of these instances can be a big problem waiting to happen. No matter if the two individuals sign an agreement saying that they are in a relationship with consent I would not allow it within the workplace.
Sometimes people accept the relationship or the offer to a relationship because of the fear that the person in charge will start to mistreat them, give them bad grades, or do things that they do not like. They sometimes find it easier to just accept and go along with whatever is at hand. In return the issue of sexual harassment comes up. Many times the two parties may end up exploiting each other. One person may be interested in the other solely for purposes of sexual gratification, but the other may construe that attention as related to the other’s intellect, as revealed through his or her studies or work. If one person participates in a sexual relationship and then discovers the true situation, there is a potential for a damaging loss of self-esteem by that person (especially where the two are teacher and young student and there is a significant age disparity between them). There is also the risk of the younger person exploiting the older person.
For example, the younger person might seek out a relationship solely because of a desire to obtain some academic or employment benefit from the relationship (such as a higher grade or a promotion). The workplace has always been a major place for individuals to meet and learn about each other. This proximity may lead to attraction and romance, which in turn may lead to productivity losses for the organization, charges of sexual harassment, perceptions of employee favoritism, the potential for breaches of privacy, and even workplace violence (Greenwald 2000). Some organizations include workplace romance and related issues resulting from workplace romance in employee orientation and training, preferring instead to ignore the problem in the hope that those involved will at least be discrete and modest and thus potential negative consequences will be finessed. Couples who sign a love contract "are confirming it is a consensual relationship and that if they break up, one will not harass the other. The contract is most commonly used when one person is the other's supervisor, which helps to prevent favoritism. In many instances signing a love contract is completely voluntarily and if you refuse to do so you will not be penalized. I think every business should have one and at least present the contract to all workers. It is then the workers decision to opt out of signing it but I would have them to sign something saying that they will not be involved with any of their co-workers. Even having a contract I think businesses should still discourage relationships among co-workers. If the boss is going to be involved with the person they are over I definitely would push the consensual relationship agreement. This, to me, is very important because many times the boss dating an employee after things have gone bad usually goes wrong and the boss is usually faced with many different problems. False accusations could be made and rumors could be spread. As a result, one or both parties could end up losing their jobs because they chose to have an intimate relationship that never should have taken place to begin with. If a consensual relationship agreement was in place this would cover the problems being faced. Even though there are many reasons why businesses should enforce consensual relationship agreements, there are also reasons why they would not be such a good idea. In a world where co-workers could freely date amongst each other just because they had a consensual relationship agreement floating around would in my opinion open Pandora’s box in the workplace. They only thing that would be protected is each party’s legal well-being. The emotional aspect of these relationships would be left unprotected still leaving room for emotions to affect each individual’s performance at work. People would be bickering and gossiping more at work and being less productive. More time would be spent worrying about who is dating who than focusing on the tasks that are due at work. By not enforcing the consensual relationship agreements that would ultimately lead to a more relaxed atmosphere in the workplace as far as dating is concerned, I think that there would still be some form of boundaries established in the workplace. If there are going to be interwork relationships, there would not be as many. Another option besides consensual relationship agreements that would address workplace romances could be to have a meeting with both parties and to let them know that you are aware of their alleged relationship and to discuss the possibility of splitting them up by sending one or both of them to different branches of the business or at least to different departments. If the individuals are still interested in being romantically involved, the next step would be to proceed with the relocation of the two. This would help avoid a lot of issues that could arise if the two were working side by side or in the same vicinity of each other. If executed properly, I feel that this method could prove to be very successful. A large amount of employees may be extremely turned off by the thought of having to relocate to another department or branch; and as a result, the desire to date inside the workplace would not be as appealing as it would be to an individual who has the safety net that is the consensual relationship agreement to allow them to have their cake and eat it too. Let’s just be honest. Intimacy and professionalism don’t blend well. Not to say that two people that are in a relationship cannot work together. I just wouldn’t advise it. Especially if one of the two is in a position of authority, (e.g. supervisor, shift leader, etc.) that could be compromised due to the fact that the two are in a romantic relationship aside from the professional relationship that they have at work. It is always best to just keep the workplace just what it is and not turn it into a lovers meeting hall. More work will get done and fewer problems with couples will have to be handled if the consensual agreement is in place. Just don’t mix business with pleasure is my advice to all business workers.