(Published February 8, 2010)
Most articles on office romance revolve around what HR should do when Cupid's arrow strikes employees and managers. Usually not addressed: What HR should do when they are the one bitten by the office love bug.
On the one hand, there are those who feel that it is inappropriate for HR to date anyone in their company due to the fact that HR deals with confidential information and employee relations issues that require impartiality. Thus, either HR should not get involved with the person, or one or the other should work elsewhere.
There's no denying that some individuals' ability to handle their HR responsibilities would be affected by an office romance. But if they aren't professional and mature enough to refrain from relaying confidential information to a lover, it's probably not the only situation in which they lack discretion. They probably should not be going out to lunch or to happy hour with platonic colleagues, either.
On the other hand, there are plenty of individuals who would continue to handle their HR duties with integrity, so is it fair to punish them? Top brass is privy to certain confidential information, but you don't read as much (if anything!) about any furor caused by those in the C-suite involved in an office romance, beyond the standard superior/subordinate romance issues. So can't the same standards be applied when HR is part of the happy couple? In other words, HR should not date anyone in their direct chain of command; there should be a process in place for dealing with potential conflicts of interest; and any issues that do arise should be handled accordingly.
However, it doesn't necessarily come down to how the HR employee behaves. Even if they can keep confidences and remain impartial, there is also the issue of how others perceive their ability to keep confidences and remain impartial. Perception itself can affect HR's effectiveness and can hinder career growth, if, for example, employees don't feel comfortable going to them with a complaint or top brass decides they lack good judgment by engaging in an office romance.
There's no one right answer. Personally, I wouldn't want to be put in a position of knowing that my paramour was on the layoff list weeks in advance of the news being announced. But it's easy for me to say that when I don't have an office paramour!
Happy Valentine's Day to all…especially if you're making an office romance work!
Gloria Ju
Editor in Chief
Home
