Employers experience fallout from unchecked workplace relationships

Close personal relationships are creating rifts in the workplace as policies don’t exist to deal with them, according to research by HR information source XpertHR.

More than 40% of employers surveyed by XpertHR experienced at least one issue as a result of a close personal relationship between employees in the workplace, yet only 24% had a written policy on the subject.

Complaints about favouritism were the biggest cause of disruption, affecting 37% of the 200 organisations over the past five years. Three in ten witnessed decreased morale, 27% had to deal with bullying after a break-up and more than 10% encountered sexual harassment claims as a result of affairs at work.

Where action was taken, it usually involved a formal reprimand, a transfer to another part of the organisation to ensure the couple did not work closely together, or in some cases it lead to dismissal.

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XpertHR Editor Charlotte Wolff said: “Although problems relating to workplace relationships are not an everyday occurrence, they can happen – most commonly having a negative impact on the working environment, efficient team working and employee performance. A large number of HR professionals responding to our survey told us they would like to see a clearer, more open approach to workplace relationships.”