Budding romantic relationships in the workplace don’t necessarily spell disaster for your company; they can actually improve your work environment if you manage them properly, as Harvey Meyer points out in his article, Love and Romance in the Workplace.

It can be easy for your employees to become romantically involved. They spend eight or more hours each day together, allowing them to really get to know one another. They understand the values and challenges that the job brings. They may have similar backgrounds and interests. For these reasons, love affairs in the office are seemingly unavoidable. Despite popular belief that office romances will cause you and the rest of the company only grief, they can make the workplace more pleasant.

If the relationship is successful, your employees will be more content, and work performance can improve through greater productivity, creativity and better communication. Some experts believe that banning such relationships is not a good idea, because relationships are potentially beneficial to your employees’ productivity and overall morale. Your employees will also not appreciate you poking around in their personal lives, Meyer asserts.

Tip: Instead of making romantic relationships forbidden to your employees, Meyer suggests trying to manage them by setting some ground rules. If your company has a policy on romantic relationships in the workplace, consider putting it in writing for your employees to see. You may also want to discuss the policy with your team. If no policy exists, consider asking your boss or the HR department about creating one.

The policy should contain guidelines to follow if employees engage in a relationship outside of work and should apply to all members of the company, even you. Creating and posting these guidelines can encourage your employees to think carefully before starting a romance in the office, according to Meyer. This might prevent any frivolous relationships that can end badly and result in conflicts and low productivity. It will also help your company to maintain a professional work environment.

Discourage any public display of affection among your employees. Such displays are not appropriate in the workplace and are unprofessional.

Finally, if your company doesn’t have a specific policy against supervisors engaging in romantic relationships, you may want to make it your own personal policy not to do so. You can ruin your credibility by starting a romantic relationship or affair with an employee who reports to you. Your manager and fellow supervisors may begin to question your judgment. Your relationship will also make your employees uncomfortable; rumors of favoritism and fears that you will share confidential information with your significant other will arise, according to Meyer.

Office romance will almost certainly occur at some point, but by setting ground rules for your employees and yourself, you can still manage your team properly and maintain a professional and productive work environment.

Filed under: Management Minute