Paper #2: Company Dating Policy at Marketing World, LLC

While employees are conducting work in the office, a certain display of behavior is expected by every company. This will certainly be the case at my future marketing firm, Marketing World, LLC. Most businesses, when faced with two employees that have a romantic or sexual relationship outside of the office, have a policy to ensure that the relationship does not disrupt the workplace environment. Enforcing a company dating policy is a way to provide a set of boundaries for co-workers that does not necessarily prevent co-workers from developing friendships or romantic relationships. The policy can provide a list of expectations set by the company of how co-workers who may be dating should act while in the office. Following the theory of Integrative Social Contracts Theory (ISCT), a company dating policy can be created and enforced for Marketing World, LLC with relative efficiency, and it can be a policy that the majority of employees who work for this company will have no issues with. There are several different dating policies within different types of office settings. Corporations, mid-size companies, and smaller offices may all have different standards set for their dating policy, or there may be no dating policy at all in certain workplaces that do not see the need for one. Because there are so many different policies that exist in regards to a dating policy, there are not many standard microsocial contacts that exist between employees and a company when the employee is first hired. Employees often do not have expectations about a certain company and its dating policy unless it has been previously researched by the employee. Researching the dating policy may be hard, as several companies do not make that information available to the general public. Potential employees, as well as current employees, can always contact the Human Resources (HR) department at Marketing World, LLC to receive more information about the dating policy. Once an employee has started working at the company, it is easier to establish a microsocial contact for each individual workplace.
Having co-workers involved in a romantic relationship can certainly be sticky situation, especially if the couple breaks up or acts inappropriately at work. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) recommends the following basic policy guidelines (or, as the ISCT theory would word it, the authentic norms) when including a dating policy: there should be clear boundaries between employee and personal business interactions; the policy does not prevent the development of friendships or romantic relationships between co-workers, but it does establish boundaries as to how relationships are conducted during work hours; individuals in supervisory or managerial roles and those with authority over others’ conditions of employment are subject to more stringent requirements under the dating policy due to their status as role models and their access to sensitive information regarding employees. These SHRM guidelines are considered the authentic norms of the dating policy because most employees approve of the compliance of this policy, deviance from the norm in recurrent situations is disapproved by most members of the work community, and over 50% of the members at Marketing World, LLC, when encountering a recurrent situation (which means several couples within the workforce), act in compliance of the company dating policy. See the attached written policy at the ed of this document for the specifics on the policy as it currently written at Marketing World, LLC. Although the dating policy is meant for any couple that has become engaged in a romantic relationship, there are other communities that may be affected by this relationship. This is one of the major reasons why a dating policy is to be implemented at Marketing World, LLC – to make sure that a romantic relationship will have a minimum impact on others. Failure to comply with the policy as outlined by the HR department at Marketing World, LLC can result in disciplinary action. Because this is the case, employees are required to report romantic relationships to the HR department, where a representative from HR will go over the policy in detail to make sure that the employees understand the policy in its entirety. If co-workers are involved in a sexual or romantic relationship, that could easily have an impact on the atmosphere of the office and make other co-workers feel uncomfortable; therefore, there are a few clauses in the policy that outline how the romantic co-workers should behave themselves while on the office premises and during office hours to prevent uncomfortable situations. Having a romantic or sexual relationship with another co-worker could also potentially affect one or both parties’ work and productivity. There is, therefore, another clause that specifies that if the relationship has an impact on the work being performed, actions may be taken to move one or both parties so that they work in different departments or are separated so that the work can still go on as usual. I believe that the policy that I have come up with for Marketing World, LLC would be one that Handy would agree with. Handy sees businesses as a tool that is supposed to better the community – and part of bettering the community as a whole is to make sure that members of the community are comfortable. This company dating policy is designed to do just that. It presents a set of guidelines that employees are meant to follow so that, should a relationship occur between two employees, the overall productivity of the company does not suffer. Handy would see this as a benefit to the community, since the policy helps create guidelines for the community as a whole to operate under. Having a dating policy is a great idea for companies as more and more co-worker relationships develop. It can both protect the company from liabilities and also protect employees by making the office a comfortable and professional environment for everyone. It also allows employees to easily understand the expectations set out by the company if a romantic or sexual relationship develops. The dating policy to be implemented at Marketing World, LLC is meant to provide employees with the best possible form the policy to be sure that work is not interrupted by romantic or sexual relationships conducted outside of the office.

Marketing World, LLC Company Dating Policy (as recommended by SHRM – see link) http://www.shrm.org/templatestools/samples/policies/pages/cms_006713.aspx 1. During regular work hours in working areas, employees are expected to conduct themselves in an appropriate, professional workplace manner that does not interfere with others or with the overall productivity of the company. 2. During nonworking time, such as lunch or breaks, or before or after work, employees engaging in personal exchanges in non-work areas should observe an appropriate workplace manner to avoid offending other workers or putting others in an uncomfortable situation. 3. Employees are strictly prohibited in engaging in physical contact that would, in any way, be deemed inappropriate by a reasonable person while anywhere on company premises, whether during work hours or not. 4. Employees who allow personal relationships with co-workers to adversely affect the work environment will be subject to the appropriate provisions of Marketing World, LLC’s disciplinary policy, including counseling for minor problems. Failure to change behavior and maintain expected work responsibilities is viewed as a serious disciplinary matter. 5. Employee off-duty conduct is generally regarded as private, as long as such conduct does not create problems within the workplace. An exception to this principle, however, is romantic or sexual relationships between supervisors and subordinates. 6. Any employees of Marketing World, LLC must disclose the existence of a romantic or sexual relationship with another co-worker. Disclosure may be made to the immediate supervisor or to the director of HR. This disclosure will enable Marketing World, LLC to determine whether any conflict of interest exists because of the relative positions of the individuals involved. 7. After a romantic or sexual relationship with another co-worker has been disclosed, a HR representative employed by Marketing World, LLC must meet with both parties to discuss Marketing World, LLC’s dating policy and the employee must sign the policy as an indication that they completely understand the policy in its entirety. 8. With regard to paragraph 6, when a conflict of interest problem or potential risk is identified, Marketing World, LLC will work with the parties involved to consider options for resolving the problem. The initial solution may be to make sure the parties no longer work together on matters where one is able to influence the other or to take action for the other. Matters such as hiring, firing, promotions, performance management, compensation decisions and financial transactions are examples of situations that may require reallocation of duties to avoid any actual or perceived reward or disadvantage. If other matters or actions are necessary, these will be discussed by both parties before action is taken. 9. With regard to paragraph 6, if one or both parties refuse to accept a reasonable solution or to offer an alternative position, if available, such refusal will be deemed a voluntary resignation of their position within Marketing World, LLC. 10. Failure to cooperate with Marketing World, LLC to resolve a conflict or problem caused by a romantic or sexual relationship between co-workers may be deemed insubordination and cause for immediate termination. The disciplinary policy of Marketing World, LLC will be followed to ensure fairness and consistency before any such extreme measures are undertaken. 11. The provisions of the policy apply regardless of the sexual orientation of the parties involved. 12. Where doubts exist as to the specific meaning of the terms used above, employees should make judgments on the basis of the overall spirit and intent of this policy. 13. Any concerns about the administration of the policy should be addressed to the director of HR.