Chances are, there are a few office romances going on at your company: a recent survey from Glamour Magazine and Lawyers.com found that 41% of employees between 25 and 40 had dated a co-worker.
So do you need a workplace policy to make sure the romance doesn’t interfere with the workplace atmosphere?
Probably not: Only 13% of companies surveyed by the Society for Human Resource Management claimed to have a formal policy in place relating to workplace romances. In most cases, HR managers seem to take a positive approach to workplace romance, stating that it often increases productivity and leads to marriage. They also regard a formal policy as being too intrusive towards employees’ personal lives.
Still, there are a couple of steps you can take to ensure that workplace romances don’t cause problems around the office. First, provide training to managers and other supervisory staff on how to address sensitive issues like PDAs. Additionally, publicize your company’s sexual harassment policy to ensure that employees are not being made uncomfortable by unwanted advances. By putting appropriate measures in place, you can help ensure that workplace romances don’t cause distractions around the office—but be careful not to get too involved in employees’ personal situations.