Love is in the air, but not the office

Alfred Lord Tennyson once said that ìin the Spring a young manís fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.î

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Put simply, this means that with love in the air, you may find yourself increasingly attracted to a work colleague, who may have made it blatantly clear they feel the same way.

And while it turned out well for Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart, those indulging in romances at work need to carefully consider how they behave. Employers, some of whom have tried to ban workplace romances in the past, need to realise these relationships are as much a part of office life as water coolers and Secret Santa.

The key is to ensure that any potential romance doesnít impact negatively on the job specifically or the workplace in general.

Stephen Seymour, of HR, training and recruitment consultancy The Urquhart Partnership said: ìLetís face it, these things happen. Having said that though, the last thing employers should have to deal with is the fall-out from an office romance.

ìPeople have a right to a personal life and to privacy. But where work is involved, certain etiquette needs to be followed, on both sides.î

Top tips for employees:

Be clear what youíre getting yourself into from the start. If itís likely to be a flash in the pan, is there any point on taking things further?

Be savvy. Donít abuse the IT system and send each other love notes over email and donít hang around the object of your affectionís desk chatting endlessly when thereís work to be done. A short phone call at a lunchtime, or after work, to check out their plans is more suitable

Behave appropriately. Save shows of affection for the pub after work or at home. Be up-front. As and when the word does get out be honest and admit youíre in a relationship, this will help nip any gossiping in the bud

Stay professional ñ basically keep work and personal issues separate, donít start arguing about whoís turn it is to wash the dishes or who said what in the heat of an argument while youíre in the office

If you supervise, or have any influence over what happens to your partner from a work perspective, you need to be very upfront and make sure that a senior manager is aware.
And if it doesnít go well ñ resist the temptation to tell everyone how bad your ex is. Be polite and move on.

Stephen added: ìThe advice for employers is to be sensitive. Where in the past a very dim view was taken by managers when staff had relationships, things have moved on since then.

ìThe only real justification for becoming involved is if there is, for whatever reason, a negative impact on the workplace as a result of the relationship, whether it be colleagues having to deal with the couple being too full-on and demonstrative in the office or assignments simply not getting done.

ìAs with any other performance-related issue, the manager then needs to address the specific problem at hand, discuss solutions and monitor the employeeís progress. They really shouldnít make any exceptions or special cases just because there is an ongoing relationship.î

For more information on the Urquhart Partnership and other workplace top tips visit upwebsite.com.