Employers should allow workers to have romantic relationships with one another. They are inevitable and for the most part harmless. Pro or con?
Pro: Don’t Fight Human Nature
The legal mess Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) faced last winter on the heels of dismissing an executive who allegedly had an affair with a subordinate serves as a warning to other employers: Butt out of office relationships.
When the retailer fired Julie Roehm, marketing senior vice-president, for—among other things—violating its “fraternization” policy last December, she sued. In March, Wal-Mart launched a countersuit, which prompted Roehm to hit back hard with new serious accusations on May 25.
So much agitation for so little purpose.
Of course, in a situation where, say, one spouse directly reports to the other spouse, conflict of interest poses a marked danger. But simply working for the same company shouldn’t prevent co-workers from dating and having long-term romantic relationships. What better place to meet someone than at the job? Chitchat in a bar or on the Web reveals little about a person’s character. But how he or she acts at work—in responsible situations, under pressure—does.
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