However, when cupid invades the workplace in the guise of office romance, it can disrupt the entire operation. The whole country stood still for a few days as it watched the spectacle of an astronaut’s office romance go awry. NASA admitted it did not have a policy prohibiting employee dating, but suggested that it would now consider implementing one. The question many employers are asking themselves is, should my company have a policy preventing office romances?

Policies on employee fraternization were very popular in the 50s and 60s, but have been eliminated over the years. The vast majority of companies no longer have them. There are many reasons for this. First of all, these policies are understandably unpopular with employees. Most of us recognize that we spend a lot of our time at work, which means that if we are single, our workplace becomes one of the places where we are likely to find a potential mate. Additionally, these policies can feel like an invasion of employee privacy.

If a policy is implemented, it has to be done in such a way that it doesn’t feel intrusive. Lastly, some people have made a claim that employee fraternization policies amount to discrimination based on marital status, which is prohibited in Washington State.

Preventing claims of sexual harassment, however, is a real concern to managers and human resource professionals. In lieu of implementing a fraternization policy, it is vitally important that every company have a solid sexual harassment policy in place. A written copy of this policy needs to be posted in the workplace, given to every employee, and included in the employee handbook. It’s important that it address how claims of sexual harassment will be handled and what the consequences of such behavior will be. If someone in a supervisory or management role approaches someone else in the workplace in a romantic way, and it is construed that subordinate employee’s job, promotion, etc., are contingent on complying, it is vital that the employee know the steps he or she can take to report this action to get immediate resolution.

Office romances can create distractions and disruptions in the workplace. In lieu of a policy preventing them, it is important that business owners, managers and supervisors understand how to handle a romance that is creating a problem. The morale of coworkers can be affected when the romantic pair’s productivity is affected by frequent personal exchanges, offensive behavior, demonstrative affection, verbal sparring, etc. Their supervisors should not hesitate to remind them to conduct themselves in a productive and professional manner.

If the romance is mutual between a supervisor and a subordinate, it needs to be dealt with immediately. The issue of a sexual harassment complaint can be put to bed by having them both sign an agreement stating that the relationship is consensual (referred to as a “love contract” or “consensual relationship agreement”.) However, it still does not remove the stigma of favoritism from the eyes of other employees. Depending on the size of your company, you can transfer one of the employees to another department. If that’s not possible, you may have to ask for one of the employees to volunteer to resign. Be careful to not automatically select the subordinate, as this may be a policy that tends to discriminate against one gender.

What happens when the romance ends? Our astronaut went off the deep end when she thought her romance was over, and her subsequent actions impacted her coworkers, her workplace, and indeed, everyone involved with her employer. While we, as employers, cannot ensure that office romances won’t end badly, the most we can do is to have behavior policies in place to govern employees on the job. We need to provide our employees with clear and concise expectations in advance.

Simple policies about appropriate workplace behavior may be sufficient to cover situations surrounding workplace dating. A strong and clear sexual harassment policy is absolutely essential to protect all companies. As with all human resource policies, you must consistently enforce whatever policy you adopt.

We will all be watching for the next chapter in the Naughty NASA Adulterous Astronaut story. While it’s amusing to read, as business managers, we are glad that it’s not a story being written about one of our own employees. We can be grateful for one thing; it has given us an opportunity to plan in advance what we will do should two of our employees become romantically involved.