Bus 520 - Assignment 1

Running head: Assignment #1

Assignment 1

Name

Dr. Stephanie Lyncheski

BUS 520

January 22, 2012

Consensual Relationship Agreements

Introduction

A forty-hour work week, commutes, daily chores and other responsibilities often mean we are spending more and more time away from home in today’s environment. Added to that the extra hours, overtime, and special assignments we often have to work, results in our coworkers, employees and employers spending more time with us during any given week than our families. Because of this, workplace romances are inevitable. There are some studies that report that eighty percent of American employees have experienced some type of romantic relationship at work (Copley News Service, 2000). Some organizations have adopted policies against such workplace romances for fear of loss of productivity, sexual harassment claims and perceptions of favoritism. However, according to the Society for Human Resource Management (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011), seventy-two percent of companies had no policy regarding workplace romance.

One way of addressing workplace romances that many companies are adopting is Consensual Relationship Agreements (CRA). A CRA is a written contract that the company has those employees who are engaged in a romantic relationship sign. The document generally states the following:

* The relationship is voluntary and consensual.

* They agree to abide by the employer’s anti-discrimination, anti-harassment, and workplace conduct policies.

* They promise to report any perceived harassment to management, if it occurs.

* They agree to behave professionally and not to allow the relationship to affect their performance.

* They agree to avoid behavior that offends others in the workplace.

* They agree not to engage in favoritism, especially in circumstances where one employee is in a higher position than the person they are engaged in a relationship with (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011)....