And they say romance is dead

Posted by HR Zone in Employment law on Thu, 12/02/2009 - 17:07

RomanceThis Saturday is Valentine's Day, which means love is quite possibly in the air con. But how can HR ensure hearts and flowers do not give way to accusations of favouritism, atmospheres you could cut with a knife, and sexual harassment claims? Christiana Tollast finds out.

In today's long hours work culture, are office romances inevitable? Judith Germain, leadership consultant and MD of Dynamic Transitions Ltd, is in no doubt: "With people doing increasingly longer hours, then it is going to happen."

Jenny Ungless, life coach at Monster.co.uk, agrees that office romances are an accepted part of working life: "I would say a high proportion of people meet their partner at work, because that is where we meet a lot of people generally."

So what are the issues that organisations must guard against when it comes to romance or playful banter at work?

"Everyone likes a bit of fun and a bit of flirtation can sometimes come into that," says Ungless.

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Editor's Welcome

 

Hello! And welcome back as we enter 2012, with a busy year ahead of us all. With talk of double-dip recessions, a possible partial or even full break-up of the Eurozone and unemployment rates set to hit nearly 9%, topics such as organisational streamlining, staff resilience and talent management are likely to be on many an HR professional's lips over the next 12 months.
 
But to lighten the gloom here in the UK, we also have the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and its attendant public holidays to look forward to at the start of June. Followed by two weeks of Olympic Games from 27 July to 12 August and the Paralympics from 29 August to 9 September, each generating their own excitement, but also issues to work through for hard-pressed HR departments trying to sort out the multifarious staffing issues in advance.
 
So with an interesting but challenging year to come, HRZone promises to be with you, supporting you all the way and providing our usual insightful blend of news, analysis, community blogs and expert comment to help you sort the wheat from the chaff. As ever, we love to hear from you too so feel free to either post your words of wisdom to our blog section yourself or, in the case of longer, more in-depth ‘expert voice’ articles, drop me a line with any ideas to cath.everett@siftmedia.co.uk.....
 
Cath Everett
HRZone Editor 
 
 
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