A Workplace Romance Need Not Be Career Ending

Workplace romances have become the hot topic since David Letterman's recent announcement that someone attempted to disclose his affairs with women working on his show. Workplace romances are fairly commonplace. Between 41% to 58% of employees state that they have dated a coworker. And, according to careerbuilder.com, 14% of employees state that they have engaged in a supervisor/subordinate relationship. You should know that a workplace romance can cause problems for you, your partner, and your company. There are some things you should do before beginning a workplace romance:

1. You should consult your companies employee handbook. Vault.com reports that 70% of companies do not have a formal policy banning workplace romances. That means that 30% of companies have such a policy. You need to know what your company thinks about workplace romances before you begin the relationship, because you can be given a formal reprimand, counseling or even terminated if your company prohibits workplace romances. Some companies handle workplace romances by separating the couple, i.e., placing them in different departments or work areas. You should not be the one who is moved if your romance is with your supervisor or someone higher than you in the corporate structure. That could be viewed as retaliation.

2. You should consider requesting that the reporting relationship be changed if your workplace romance is with your supervisor. There are many pitfalls in workplace romances between a supervisor and subordinate. You should think about how to protect yourself and your career before beginning the romance with a supervisor. One way to protect yourself is to ask that the reporting relationship be changed so that you do not report to the person you are dating. Changing the reporting relationship will protect you in two ways. One, the person you are dating will not have the power to discipline you or damage your employment if the relationship ends badly. Two, your achievements will not be discounted by your workplace romance because your achievements cannot be attributed to your workplace romance.

3. You should keep your romance out of the workplace. You may be dating someone in your workplace, but your romance should not be part of your workplace. You should maintain the same level of professionalism as you did before you began dating your coworker. You should not email each other on company computers or text each other on company telephones. You certainly should not engage in any displays of affection in the workplace. You should keep your personal life and your professional life very separate when you are dating a coworker.

Finally, coworkers engaging in a workplace romance can affect your employment. If a coworker begins a workplace romance, you should pay attention to see if your employment is being negatively impacted by the romance. If you are denied promotions, work assignments, or merit increases because of a workplace romance, you should consider raising the issue with Human Resources.