Dating Relationship among employees

ricton · January 2011

Can anyone give me help on wording a policy that would discourage dating relationships in the workplace? We currently have a policy against someone in a supervisory role dating within, but what about employees with the same job functions?

Sharon McKnight SPHR · January 2011

I think that if you head down that path (the one that prevents non-supervisory employees from dating one another) you're asking for a slew of employee relations issues.

Having such a policy may tend to make the company come across to employees as "big Brother" trying to control employees’ personal lives and, I'm afraid, it will be resented, even by employees who don't necessarily approve of employees dating one another. Realistically, having a policy against this won't stop it from happening, but will just drive it underground and leave the management team clueless. If your current policy prevents supervisors from dating employees who are [U]not[/U] in their chain of command, I encourage you to reconsider.

One thing I think you could do that may help deter dating among employees is to implement use of a Consensual Relationship Agreement. Having to sign such an agreement makes employees stop and think about what they're getting into and maybe think twice about the relationship. If you are an HRLaws.com subscriber, you can find one on the site under forms/miscellaneous.

You can also find a nonfraternization policy on the site and that same policy is available on HRHero.com as well.
This policy, even though it does not ban employee relationships, may provide you with some of the wording you're looking for.

Hope this helps.

Sharon

Still Need Coffee · January 2011

I agree with Sharon - banning them completely is likely to cause more harm than good. Take a look at the documents she mentioned - our company addresses this through a conflict of interest policy that each employee signs. They have to disclose certain relationships, after which a committee reviews the info. If necessary, an employee may be moved to a different team/department to avoid any sort of conflict of interest, but in general, we appreciate the honesty and try to work with the couple on finding a good situation.

ACU Frank · January 2011

Walmart used to have a policy prohibiting employees from dating each other. When it was finally killed, they were shocked at the quantity and quality of relationships their employees had been hiding. In many cases, longtime employees were able to reveal they were married to each other and had children!

You can set guidelines on keeping the workplace professional, maintaining clean reporting lines, etc., but if you go beyond that you're sacrificing good will and gaining nothing but a reputation as control freaks.

Paul in Cannon Beach · January 2011

I met my wife at work. On our current staff, we have at least 11 people who met their spouses here. Possibly more but I was being conservative in my estimate.

Over the years, hundreds of happy couples met here.

I think you would have better success hiring unnattractive people than instituting a "no dating among co-workers" policy.

Still Need Coffee · January 2011

[QUOTE=Paul in Cannon Beach;721349]I think you would have better success hiring unnattractive people than instituting a "no dating among co-workers" policy.[/QUOTE]

I love it. Wonder if I can get the C-Suite on board....::pb&J::

Paul in Cannon Beach · January 2011

Coffee, how many times have I told you that you cannot use my snarky comments for your company policies?

Sharon McKnight SPHR · January 2011

[quote=Still Need Coffee;721353]I love it. Wonder if I can get the C-Suite on board....::pb&J::[/quote]
I'd say that depends on whether they have mirrors.

Still Need Coffee · January 2011

But Paul, snarky comments help distract me from the miserable abyss that comes from daily interactions with inept employees!

Oh wait....that sounded bitter....nevermind :angel:

Dutch2 · January 2011

We really do not discourage such relationships unless there is a Manager/Employee situation - where one would be the supervisor of the other.
I too met my young bride at work - we were both Wal-Martians some 27 years ago. We had to get permission to date from our Divisional Sr. V.P.

Paul in Cannon Beach · January 2011

Dutch, those blue vests are flattering, aren't they?

NaeNae55 · January 2011

[QUOTE=Paul in Cannon Beach;721371]Dutch, those blue vests are flattering, aren't they?[/QUOTE]

They are, aren't they? They bring out the blue in the worker's vein..er...I mean eyes.

Paul in Cannon Beach · January 2011

Dutch, is OK to call someone a "Wal-martian" or is that like certain racial terms which can only be used by someone of that ethnicity?

Dutch2 · January 2011

well.... it has been 17 years since I left Wally-World - at that time we (associates) referred to one another as Wal-Martians. The Blue vest weren't too bad; at least I could fit into one back then.

cnghr · January 2011

Do any Walmart employees still even wear those vests? At ours, they've gone to navy t-shirts or polo shirts. I don't think I've seen anyone there in one of the vests in a while.

Dating Relationship among employees

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