Emmanuelle Moreno
Should Employers Regulate Dating Between Employers?
Should Employers Regulate Dating Between Employers?
In an average person’s life there is hardly any time for a personal life, so it’s only natural that many people are now meeting their spouses on the job. Ray E. Gallo (2006) says that not only are employees having office flings, but they are also getting married to their co-workers. Getting involved romantically or physically with supervisors is more common today than ever before. Office romance has become so common in the work place that it has become a problem with day to day office activities, which becomes a problem for Human Resource and along other management.
Human Resource managers must deal with
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“In November 2005, an online poll by the Society for Human Resource Management and CareerJournal.com found that 72 percent of organizations had no written or verbal policies that addressed work place romance.” When drafting a love contract, Robert K. Smithson (2011) suggested that Human Resources should not take it into their hands to write their own policies, but leave it to the professionals. He feels that an employment attorney would better assist companies by doing the background research on sexual harassment issues and matters of privacy, for them. Having a well-drafted contract would not only decrease the risk of sexual harassment claims and litigation, but most importantly the liability for the organization itself. Yet even having the most well crafted love contract will not guarantee that it will be used. Saul Karen (2007) talks about a recent case where in November 2005, Mark W. Everson was forced to resign as president and CEO of the American Red Cross because of his relationship with a female subordinate. Everson was married at the time. It is unlikely he would have signed a love contract.
Another reason love contracts don’t have much weight is because research has indicated that subordinates are sometimes forced or pressured to sign a love contract just so they can guarantee advancement within the company. Rather than signing because they really care for the person, they may be placed
She thinks that retreats create opportunities for males and females in the company to hit on one another. Because of holding strong religious belief and feel, she believes that the organization should create policy concerning inter-office dating.
In corporate America, sexual harassment is a huge concern amongst many organizations. The matter of sexual harassment is an issue that needs to be immediately attended to in
In what may be the most bewildering court ruling ever produced, “The court held that the complainant’s refusal to have sexual relations with her supervisor, and the resulting elimination of her job, was not discrimination. Rather it was due to ‘the subtleties of an inharmonious personal relationship’” (Gregg, pg. 304,
Workplace romances are now one of the challenges that organizations of all sizes have to address. How they address them varies from organization to organization. Some businesses and organizations strictly prohibit them in any form or fashion, while others prohibit them when the participants are in certain roles within the organization. Some companies have chosen not to address the issue at all and others are using a more formal method of documenting and mitigating the risk they feel these relationships pose. One of the methods of documenting, and potentially mitigating, this
Human Resources professionals are in a unique position to help corporations build the integrity of the company and develop positive organizational cultures. They can use their influences on many levels within an organization promote ethics by developing programs and policies that encourage employees to make the right choices. This may be in form of a written code of ethics or ethical training for managers and employees that make them fully aware of the company’s expectations in areas such as discrimination, sexual harassment, and the treatment of employees. The HR department can also be a resource and kept close at hand when ethical situations arise they are not clearly addressed in the policies or as a mediator for conflict resolution. Since the HR department is involved in the hiring of new employees, they can be proactive in identifying desirable character traits that align with the company’s philosophies as well as on-boarding programs that reinforce the values of the company.
Does the phrase “That’s what she said.” sound familiar? The phrase is from the popular hit television series The Office. The guy behind this popular quote is none other than Dunder Mifflin’s Michael Scott. This quote is not only inappropriate but it is also a form of sexual harassment and Michael Scott is the king of sexual harassment. Unfortunately sexual harassment is a problem that is occurring in the workplace. In another popular movie, Horrible Bosses, sexual harassment is one of the main points in the story. The best example of this is when Charlie Day’s boss, Jennifer Anniston, constantly makes sexual gestures and inappropriate statements at him. However, in The Office and Horrible Bosses, sexual harassment is taken to an extreme. What is unfortunate about sexual harassment is that most people do not realize that it is illegal in the workplace. However, it is possible that a few comments slip out every now and then but they should not be taken lightly. Unfortunately in these situations, there is nothing done to prevent it in the workplace, which I have decided to look into the problem of preventing sexual harassment in the workplace.
Work place policies regarding sexual harassment is the main issue discussed in this article. Sexual harassment has continued to be a challenge within the workplace. According to a recent review of sexual harassment related resolutions, employers have paid over $732,976.00 in sexual harassment fines (Hobson, Szostek, & Fitzgerald, 2015). The EEOC has issued written guidelines for appropriate strategies employers should use to handle workplace sexual harassment and specific ways to address it. It is the employer’s duty to proactively work to protect all employees from any type of sexual harassment by following sexual harassment policies and procedures that are put in place. Failure to implement and follow the policy and procedure in the workplace can and most likely will lead to liability should an EEOC investigation or lawsuit occur. The employer needs to disperse copies of the policies and procedures and post them in central locations throughout the organization and address sexual harassment in the employee handbooks. The policy and procedures need to clear
The article “The Dark Triad and sexual harassment proclivity” consists of research that concerns the importance of individuals with tendencies that engage in sexual behaviors. It’s unfortunate that sexual harassment is even prevalent at such a high rate within our society. Moreover, it state that “44% of female and 19% of male federal employees report that they have been sexually harassed at work (United States Merit Systems protection Board, 1995). Consequently, there are results of sexual harassment within the job sector such as lack of job employment, lack of adjustment after the situations, and the like. Therefore, according to the article, researchers began to expand their understanding of sexual harassment and the causes of behavior that promote sexual harassment. More specifically, this article states “…Previous research has established that these traits are connected with aspects of sexual aggression (e.g. Figueredo, Gladden, Sisco, Patch, & Jones, 2015, Jones & Olderbak, 2014).
See Chapter 3 - Equal Employment Opportunity and Human Resources Management: Case Study 2: Misplaced Affections: Discharge for Sexual Harassment
The dynamics of present era has driven both men and women to the workplace. They spend most of their active time at workplace and engage themselves in team work. Because of long working hours spent together, colleagues develop intimacy with one another. At times, this intimacy between colleagues of opposite gender takes the shape of affiliation, attachment and then romance. It is this point, when companies take specific actions to protect their workplace environment and productivity of the employees. One of the ways is through Consensual Relationship Agreement, commonly known as CRA. Through CRA in black and white, companies ensure that the emotionally attached employees are well aware of the organizational policies related to romance at workplace. CRA also undertakes employees' involvement with each other as per their own will so that company remains aloof of harassment issues. It is also formal information to the employees that their attachment with each other should not affect the workplace environment, productivity and ethics. There are mixed views about efficacy of CRA. Few people consider it beneficial while others suspect it on grounds of workplace productivity (Bernstein, 2003).
In our society sexual harassment has been in the workplace for years. The use of sexual harassment in the workplace has been remembered best as a weapon used to keep women in their place which would cause them to forfeit promotions within their organizations. It was once believed that women were the only victims but the shift is now changing men are also reporting that they are also victims of sexual harassment on the job. In 1964 the Civil Rights Act was passed and employers began to recognize that they were liable for two types of sexual harassment. The first kind of harassment is Quid pro quo when a supervisor offers the employee sexual advances in order to get or keep a job, and also this harassment is used to determined if an
While many people have observed different work relationships and their effects on the individuals and the work environments, Omdahl has summarized and included many details about the relationships and how to avoid conflict within them. Friendships, managerial relationships and various other types of relationships within the workplace have been noted to have different approaches in handling or avoiding complications. Omdahl provides six principles for handling problems with workplace relationships. These principles range from how to set and hold expectations to seeking additional outside help when needed. The author includes several examples and research points from other
While being a receptionist, Scott may not have noticed the informal network between men within the organization she works for. Such informal networks provide men with information on advancement opportunities and career tips given by senior (male) members. Now that she is beginning a career where she may encounter such groups, Scott must be prepared to deal with such networks between her male co-workers.
Another employee who requires significant insight and oversight from human resource management would be Carla Goodman. A first step with Ms. Goodman must include an investigation into the sexual harassment complaint. Issues of this nature are time sensitive and there is a legal obligation to address them immediately (Woska, 2013). A claim of sexual harassment would fall within the guidelines of compliance. Furthermore, Ms. Goodman’s poor performance and high compensation also need to be addressed through human resources and Ms. Roberts. Greg Williams is an employee who would benefit from some good leadership and direction, along with ongoing training and personal development. Finally, Kathy Lewis is an employee who has been recognized as a high performer, high potential employee who they would like to retain, but are at risk of losing. For high performing individuals it is important to keep them engaged and challenged (Kotlyar, 2013). Management should look for opportunities to adjust Ms. Lewis’s job responsibilities, expand
Being stuck in an office all day with the same people help creating strong connections. A recent study, found that 38% of people have dated a co-worker in their career (Brandon), this number is not negligible. Work environment promotes interpersonal relationships because of