An Employee Handbook (also known as “Company Policy Manual” or Staff Handbook) is a book that an employer gives to employees. The employee handbook’s purpose is to bring job-related information and employment together, and employees need to know. Usually, three different types of Employee Handbooks are available: General Information, Cultural, and Case-Specific. In short, the employee handbook contains information on the induction process for newly hired staff. It gives clear advice to employees and creates a friendly environment where issues are dealt with consistently.
Employee Handbook about Office Romance
You would be amazed to know that almost 1 in 4 employees would always be open to an Office Romance, while half employees get engaged during dating. Whether you are interested or not as an HR Professional, knowing about Romantic Relationship at work and considering the complications that might dent your culture and organization is mandatory. According to a report, 1 out of 3 respondents directly or directly are or have been found to be involved in a relationship with a colleague. The most interesting part starts when you come to know that approximately 10% of respondents found relationships with colleagues of senior posts. Recently, CNN President Jeff Zucker resigned due to the consensual relationship. While employee dating isn’t a big deal, almost half of the respondents keep their relationship secret from others. Still, stats show that over 80% of employees favor office romance; meanwhile, workplace romance policies seem murky in several cases. About 50% of organizations didn’t have proper formal policies addressing relationships at work.
Understand and Set up your Objectives
First you all, you should be clear whether you favor Office Romance or not. If you are planning to create Office Romance Policy, then you should need to do the following:
- Prevent Office Romance from Happening
- Set a Formal Policy for Employees
- Defend the Organization in case of Sexual Harassment Claim
- If you favor Office Romance, you should protect and support employees in a relationship.
Should you Ban Office Romance?
We don’t think so. You shouldn’t ban office romance as it may stifle your organization’s culture with consequences. Besides, the micromanagement can be shown and may lead professional managers to terminate. Your employees may feel they aren’t free to explore their feelings. If you are eager to control Office Romance, here’s a common solution to handle romances. The only way to handle the romance is the Employee Handbook, as you have to make strict policies and enforce them on your employees. Asking your employees to sign a contract may go in your favor as it prevents the situation from appearing when an employee makes a legal claim against the other respondent of your organization. Does your Employee Handbook need an update? Contact Us today for a free consultation.