{"id":205355,"date":"2021-06-24T20:09:58","date_gmt":"2021-06-24T07:09:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.nz\/?p=205355"},"modified":"2021-07-14T20:01:45","modified_gmt":"2021-07-14T07:01:45","slug":"workplace-romantic-relationships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.nz\/employment\/workplace-romantic-relationships\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Tips to Manage Romantic Relationships in Your Workplace"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Romantic relationships in the workplace or office romances can be one of the trickiest situations to handle in a business. Some surveys suggest most people have participated in romantic relationships<\/span> in the workplace<span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> at some point, so it is certainly a common phenomenon. On the other hand, <\/span>these relationships <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">can pose issues for your business in terms of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/legalvision.co.nz\/corporations\/conflict-of-interest-company-director\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">conflicts of interest<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, perceived conflicts of interest, and sometimes issues for the office environment.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This article sets out a few tips for managing romantic relationships in the workplace, including the need for:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">clear <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/legalvision.co.nz\/employment\/health-and-safety-policy\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">policies and expectations<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">;<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">disclosure of employee relationships; and<\/span><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/legalvision.co.nz\/employment\/good-faith-obligation\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">acting in good faith<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> at all times.<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Set Policies and Expectations&nbsp;<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A good tip for managing workplace relationships is to set expectations around behaviours rather than specific relationships. <\/span>You should clearly outline and communicate behaviour<span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> expectations to employees in some form or another. The nature of the industry and business will affect what is acceptable and what is not. Guidelines <\/span>c<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">an help your business navigate<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">workplace romances when they arise and pose issues.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">It is worth noting that office relationships do not necessarily represent a problem. The key question to consider is whether the relationship has a <\/span>negative<span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> effect on the business somehow. An employee m<\/span>ay be<span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> given opportunities or benefits due to a workplace relationship they may not otherwise receive. T<\/span>his can be an issue even if it is not intentional, and is only being perceived by colleagues. <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This can cause resentment and threaten office harmony. These perceived or actual conflicts of interest should b<\/span>e addressed by<span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> a clear policy. This policy should outline what employees in that situation must do. For example, they might need to declare the relationship to the business or human resources team.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Having policies and expectations in place is essential when enforcing positive practices. It can be a nightmare to develop these guidelines in response to a particular workplace romance. <\/span>The creation of new rules may make the relevant e<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">mployees feel u<\/span>nfairly targeted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Encouraging Disclosure of Employee Relationships Where There is a Conflict of Interest<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>E<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">mployees should not always need to disclose their relationships if they are minor and<\/span> do not <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">impact business<\/span>. However,<span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> this changes if the relationship can cause issues somehow. The most likely way this occurs is through an actual or potential conflict of interest. In these circumstances, employees should make their relationship known to you or a human resources team member.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">There are many benefits of having a proactive and positive disclosure regime. The transparency alone can fix some of the issues around perceptions of a conflict of interest. It can also provide the business with an opportunity to resolve issues that do arise. For instance, the business can change reporting lines.<\/span> This would mean a<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">n employee would not report to someone they are in a relationship with.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"box box--icon box--info\">\n<p>To create a culture of proactive disclosure, have expectations and policies set in writing early. This transparency can stop further issues from developing if employees maintain a workplace relationship in secrecy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<a href=\"#content-next\"\n   class=\"block p-4 mt-10 text-xl font-bold text-center text-white no-underline bg-gray-800 rounded-t-xl\">\n    Continue reading this article below the form\n    <i class=\"text-xl fa-regular fa-arrow-down\"><\/i>\n<\/a>\n<div class=\"px-6 pt-10 pb-12 mb-10 text-center bg-gray-100 rounded-b-xl sm:px-12 test\">\n    <div class=\"mb-8 text-2xl font-bold text-orange\">\n        Need legal advice?\n        <br>\n        <span class=\"text-lg not-prose\">\n                            Call <a href=\"tel:+64800005570\" class=\"not-prose\">0800 005 570<\/a> for urgent assistance.\n                <br>\n                Otherwise, complete this form, and we will contact you within one business day.\n                    <\/span>\n    <\/div>\n\n    \n\n<div class=\"not-prose flex justify-center text-left gform_input_bg_white    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It is always a mistake to jump to conclusions or punish the employees involved through a disciplinary process, especially before you have ascertained the facts and understood each side of the story.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The best way to manage challenges like actual and perceived conflicts is to apply general rules and principles to the situation, such as those set out in the policy. These also help fulfil your good faith obligations as you are not unfairly targeting a new workplace relationship with bespoke rules.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Key Takeaways<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Workplace relationships are a fact of life for many businesses and offices. While they are not necessarily problematic or harmful for a business, they can sometimes pose issues surrounding actual and perceived conflicts of interest. <\/span>C<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">lear expectations and policies<\/span> can help the business navigate issues around conflict of interest<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. A disclosure regime where there is a conflict or perceived conflict is an excellent example of this. No matter the situation or your personal feelings about the relationship, you must act in good faith towards the employees involved and act fairly without jumping to any conclusions.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you would like more information or advice on managing workplace relationships and romances, contact <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/legalvision.co.nz\/corporate-lawyers-lp\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">LegalVision\u2019s employment lawyers<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> on <a href=\"tel:+64800005570\" class=\"AVANSERnumber dynamic-number\">0800 005 570<\/a> or complete the form on this page.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"schema-faq wp-block-yoast-faq-block\"><div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-1620612784473\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\"><strong>What are workplace relationships?<\/strong><\/strong> <p class=\"schema-faq-answer\">Workplace relationships are when employees in the office are romantically involved. Sometimes this does not need to be notified to other people in the office or the business. But sometimes, it is essential to do so, particularly when one employee manages the other directly and the relationship can affect the business or team dynamic.<\/p> <\/div> <div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-1620612809584\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\"><strong>Can employees be penalised for workplace relationships?<\/strong><\/strong> <p class=\"schema-faq-answer\">Employers should be very wary of penalising or disciplining employees for workplace relationships unless there is clear evidence that they have actually done something detrimental to the business, such as unfairly provide opportunities to each other without disclosing their relationship.<\/p> <\/div> <div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-1620612820512\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\"><strong>What is a perceived conflict of interest?<\/strong><\/strong> <p class=\"schema-faq-answer\">A situation in which other employees may perceive there to be a conflict of interest for an employee, whether or not there actually is one. For instance, a manager in a workplace romance may be perceived to provide favourable treatment to an employee they are in a relationship with, whether or not they are actually doing so. Perceived conflicts are serious issues for businesses to manage.\u00a0<\/p> <\/div> <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Romantic relationships in the workplace or office romances can be one of the trickiest situations to handle in a business. Some surveys suggest most people have participated in romantic relationships in the workplace at some point, so it is certainly a common phenomenon. On the other hand, these relationships can pose issues for your business<a href=\"https:\/\/legalvision.co.nz\/employment\/workplace-romantic-relationships\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"sr-only\">&#8220;3 Tips to Manage Romantic Relationships in Your Workplace&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13235,"featured_media":201785,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[54,431,494,495],"class_list":["post-205355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-employment","tag-medium-business","tag-employment-rights","tag-policy","tag-employee-policy"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>3 Tips to Manage Romantic Relationships in Your Workplace | LegalVision<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In the workplace, romantic relationships can complicate business. 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