Cupid is coming on Saturday, but before Valentine’s Day gets to your workplace, employers should brush up on office romance policies, according to Cindy Schmitt Minniti, Mark Goldstein and Michael Kleinmann of Reed Smith. With everyone swooning for rose petals and chocolates, “there is no better time to ensure that your personnel policies adequately address office relationships, and more importantly, the fallout from failed relationships,” they say.
Here are some of their tips for letting lowered employer risk be your Valentine:
- Don’t be the Grinch Who Stole Love, but do be the Grinch Who Stole Valentine’s Day: The authors don’t suggest imposing a blanket ban on office romance, as they note this ignores the reality that employees will become involved and also violates some state laws. Instead, they say accept the fact employees will form relationships and take proactive steps toward protecting the work environment. However, they do suggest avoiding actual Valentine’s Day office parties.
- To require disclosure or not to require disclosure, that is the question: The Bard said it best … sort of. Some companies require employees to disclose at-work relationships, and others make people sign “love contracts.” Whatever the case, the authors note policies that remind people to remain professional in the workplace and not exhibit any sexual behavior on the job are key, and should be extended not only to relationships between co-workers, but also between workers and vendors or contractors with the company.
- Impose sexual harassment policies: “Sexual harassment policies are an absolute must for all employers,” say the authors. The best ones are clear about prohibited conduct, provide examples of it and describe a clear complaint procedure.
