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Office romances are generally believed to be unhelpful to the welfare and effectiveness of the business and to the network of relationships that comprise it. They contain the potential for abuse, alliance, and distraction SIlls, J 'Love at Work 'How to get away with an office romance' retrieved from May 25 2007. Thus they are discouraged and even prohibited in some company policy. Describing an office relationship as a romance can be cover for a form of Workplace Bullying More men claiming sexual harassment retrieved from [http://www.usatoday.com/money/workplace/2004-09-17-harass_x.htm May 25, 2007 Love, Lust and the Law - Sexual harassment in the academy retrieved from [http://www.aaup.org/publications/Academe/1998/98so/SO98Alg.HTM] May 25, 2007. The suspicion that an advantage is gained by 'sleeping with the boss' in a competitive environment ensures that these transactions occur by stealth. To have a powerful influence on the opportunities placed in one's path, one does not have to engage in sexual intercourse. A special relationship could be enough to gain leverage where business opportunities are in short supply. This fuzzy boundary can be nuanced by practiced players in order to provide deniability when required. Neither does one have to be directly involved in the affair for the knowledge of it to be useful currency — discretion in exchange for advantage. Office affairs may involve a power differential in both heterosexual and same sex liaisons. If the affair ends badly it is almost always the least powerful who gives up their job and the more powerful who stays or gets promoted out of the area as a solution. Increasingly employers will insert office romance disclosure clauses in employment contracts. Where the affair or its non-disclosure is in breach of that contract, the clandestine edge is heightened. Perversely this can increase both the excitement of the affair and the later damage to collegiate relationships and the company's good name. A witch hunt can ensue. INCIDENCE In its 2003 nationwide survey Vault found that 47 percent of workers have participated in an office romance and an additional 19 percent would be willing to do so if the opportunity arose. Vault's 2003 Office Romance Survey is based on responses from over 1,000 professionals at companies nationwide. In addition, 13 percent of respondents said their employer had a policy regarding office dating, 51 percent said their company has no policy, and 36 percent said they didn't know whether one existed Survey: 47 Percent of Workers Admit to Office Romance retrieved from {Link without Title} May 25, 2007. When asked to comment about romance in the workplace, respondents replied:
POWER DYNAMICS Few companies have a defined policy against office romance according to the 2006 Workplace Romance survey of 493 HR professionals and 408 employees by the Society for Human Resource Management. Only 9% of those surveyed prohibit dating among employees, and more than 70% of organizations have no formal written or verbal policies about office romance.Retrieved from Canadian Management training May 25, 2007 Some writers argue that the cost of having a formal policy may outweigh the benefits, as inevitable fraternization will be driven underground. The most common and legally enforceable policy states that supervisors cannot date employees within their direct chain of command. Ballou, JA. Companies calculate potential cost of workplace romance Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal - March 2, 2007 retrieved from [http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2007/03/05/focus2.html?f=et152&b=1173070800^1425641&hbx=e_vert May 25, 2007 An office romance is usually a breach of either formal or informal effect. It evolves from collegiate relationship to Limerence quickly and covertly - sometimes this is described as 'having a crush.' Affairs begin one conversation at a time, often without either party admitting to themselves that they intend a deeper connection. 'It just happened' may be the subsequent claim. In fact, the time between a so-called innocent beginning and the first kiss is usually considerable, but the time between that kiss and sexual intercourse is usually short. People involved in this way can appear to themselves to have landed in trouble very quickly, when in fact there was a slow fuse burning long before ignition Shirley Glass 'Not Just Friends'. The process of disengaging an office affair requires careful and non-punitive examination at every level of the organization in order to understand affair dynamics at work. That will assist in preventing breaches of employment contracts where that is possible. The challenges of that process suggest the value of Family Friendly employment conditions. SEE ALSO
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