relationships at work

In today’s society it is becoming more encouraged to have interpersonal relationships in the workplace. There is, however, a point to draw the line and maintain professionalism in the work environment. A friendship level of an interpersonal relationship is very different from a romantic level. There are positive and negative outcomes to both, but a romantic relationship in the workplace is not acceptable. The risk of negatively affecting one’s personal work performance as well as other co-workers’ work performance is too high to encourage romantic relationships at work. Friendships that remain professional are the best forms of interpersonal relationships at work.
When spending more than 40 hours a week in a workplace environment, it is not unusual to have friendships form between co-workers. Sometimes these friendships can turn more personal and intimate. There can be both positive as well as negative results from this. The formation of friendships in the workplace can yield a very positive result. One will feel comfortable and see the workplace as more enjoyable when they have friendships and positive interactions with their co-workers. “Organizational learning is an important means for improving performance. Learning is a process, that is, often relational in the sense of relying on interactions between people to determine what needs improving and how to do it. This study addresses the question of how the quality of work relationships facilitates learning behaviors in organizations through the ways it contributes to psychological safety. Data collected from 212 part-time students who hold full-time jobs in organizations operating in a wide variety of industries show that capacities of high-quality relationships (measured at time 1) are positively associated with psychological safety, which, in turn, are related to higher levels of learning behaviors (measured at time 2). The results also show that experiences of high-quality relationships (measured at time 1) are both directly and indirectly (through psychological safety) associated with learning behaviors (measured at time 2). These findings shed light on the importance of quality relationships in the workplace for cultivating and developing perceptions of psychological safety and ultimately learning behaviors in organizations.” Carmeli, A., Brueller, D. and Dutton, J. E. (2009). It is highly important to maintain positive friendships in the workplace. Within those friendships it allows employees to maintain positive interactions as well as aid in helping each other improve on specific ordeals in the workplace (projects, presentations, etc). Those improvements will also lead to better productivity as well as more positive attributes for the organization. Taking the risk in turning these friendships into more romantically centered relationships can bring in other factors. One might enjoy a romantic relationship in the workplace; however keeping the relationship at work on a professional level can be difficult. Disagreements can turn more personal and cause stress in the work environment. One may even leave their place of work due to a personal relationship causing more harm than good therefore hindering positive productivity at work. Further career advancement could be denied due to relationships at work. That is especially true when the relationship is between one who has a higher rank than their significant other. Work performance can also decline when the relationship at work is not kept at a professional level. “It was found that several aspects of the work environment directly exacerbated or created negative relationships which, in turn, negatively impacted respondents ' experiences of work. Findings illustrate some strongly held employee expectations of behavior and felt-obligations defining both formal and informal organizational roles.” Rachel L. Morrison, Terry Nolan, (2007). An opposing side to that can lead towards less stress in the work environment as long as the relationship remains on a positive track. This mostly depends on the intentions of the relationship. When the relationship remains mature and professional, even more motivation, teamwork, and work ethic can result. Even though it is sometimes viewed as a more of a negative than a positive, that assumption may lead towards motivation to prove it wrong and maintain positivity within the relationship at work. With the relationship remaining in a positive direction, each member of the relationship may carry happier work moral towards themselves and their own work and also with other co-workers. “An empirical investigation is presented which offers support for positive relationships between contact employee fairness perceptions and their prosocial service behaviors (customer service behaviors and cooperation with fellow employees) and job satisfaction. Fairness of job supervision, pay and promotion rules and supervisor administration of these rules emerge as the key predictors of contact employee prosocial service behaviors and job satisfaction.” Lance A. Bettencourt, Stephen W. Brown, (2008).
It is completely legal for an employer to not allow couples to work together in the same department. It is too hard to attempt to know whether the level of professionalism will remain at an expected level when there are couples working together. Even though numerous positive outcomes may result, the risk of the lack of professionalism between a couple as well as what may reflect on other co-workers is too high. “From the employer’s side, there are all kinds of reasons not to want couples working in the same department (or even in the same company, for that matter). Will you two be able to work on projects together professionally? Will you act in a way that makes others uncomfortable? Will you cause drama or tension if you have a fight or break up? If you have a fight and stop speaking to each other, how’s that going to play out at work, where you might need to interact with each other? If your girlfriend doesn’t get along with her boss, is that going to impact your own relationship with that boss? What if she gets fired or treated in a way she feels is unfair? Is that really not going to impact your own morale?” Ask a Manager (2013). It should be well respected and enforced for a company to at least not allow a couple to work together in the same department. There is too much risk of failure in work performance if the relationship turns negative. The company’s best interest should always be a priority as well as one maintaining the highest level of work performance possible.
Not allowing couples to work together can easily be enforced. Making clear explanations, rules, and guidelines is what it will take. Whichever restriction a company desires to make, they must be clear. There also must be punishments and precautions made clear to all employees if the set rules are broken. It is possible to have a work relationship, and it should be encouraged; however the relationship should be at a friendship level. If there is a relationship on a romantic level in the workplace, and employer should make sure the couple is not in the same department. Enforcing the rule of no romantic relationships in the same work department should have a positive affect on work relationships. “Workers can and should concern themselves with not disrupting the workplace. Two-thirds of couples try to keep their relationship a secret, but most are known as an “item” before any formal announcements are made.” Helena P. Amaral (2003). Employees should have a worry-free mindset within their workplace, which would encourage more friendships, and as mentioned earlier friendships at work have an extreme positive output. With the rule being enforced, it will allow for all of the employees to enter their work environment with no fear of favoritism between co-workers. The rules and regulations should be made with keeping the privacy and respect in mind as well, more focused around a guarantee of professionalism for all employees. Even though romantic relationships are becoming more open in the workplace, they should remain discouraged. The risk is too high individually as well as the big picture of an entire work department. A positive friendship is the most efficient way to have a successful interpersonal relationship at work.

Works Cited

AMARAL, H. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.uri.edu/research/lrc/research/papers/Amaral_Fraternization.pdf
Ask a manager. (2013, 9). Retrieved from http://www.askamanager.org/2011/11/when-an-employer-prohibits-couples-from-working-in-the-same-department.html
Carmeli, A., Brueller, D. and Dutton, J. E. (2009), Learning behaviours in the workplace: The role of high-quality interpersonal relationships and psychological safety. Syst. Res., 26: 81–98. doi: 10.1002/sres.932. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/sres.932/citedby

Interpersonal relationships at work.
Reich, Tara C.; Hershcovis, M. Sandy
Zedeck, Sheldon (Ed), (2011). APA handbook of industrial and organizational psychology, Vol 3: Maintaining, expanding, and contracting the organization. APA Handbooks in Psychology., (pp. 223-248). Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association. Retrieved from http://psycnet.apa.org/books/12171/006

Morrison, R. (2004, 11 01). Informal relationships in workplace. Retrieved from http://www.biomedsearch.com/article/Informal-relationships-in-workplace-associations/127433760.html

Cited: AMARAL, H. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.uri.edu/research/lrc/research/papers/Amaral_Fraternization.pdf Ask a manager. (2013, 9). Retrieved from http://www.askamanager.org/2011/11/when-an-employer-prohibits-couples-from-working-in-the-same-department.html Carmeli, A., Brueller, D. and Dutton, J. E. (2009), Learning behaviours in the workplace: The role of high-quality interpersonal relationships and psychological safety. Syst. Res., 26: 81–98. doi: 10.1002/sres.932. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/sres.932/citedby Interpersonal relationships at work. Reich, Tara C.; Hershcovis, M. Sandy Zedeck, Sheldon (Ed), (2011). APA handbook of industrial and organizational psychology, Vol 3: Maintaining, expanding, and contracting the organization. APA Handbooks in Psychology., (pp. 223-248). Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association. Retrieved from http://psycnet.apa.org/books/12171/006 Morrison, R. (2004, 11 01). Informal relationships in workplace. Retrieved from http://www.biomedsearch.com/article/Informal-relationships-in-workplace-associations/127433760.html