Office Romance - Review by Christopher Odoyo

JANET LEVER, GAIL ZELLMAN, STEPHEN J. HIRSCHFELD, “OFFICE ROMANCE”. REVIEWED BY CHRISTOPHER ODOYO, # 10-1015.

This review offers an assessment of office romance from three perspectives. An interesting reality that is explored is that employees are more concerned with the embarrassment of being caught rather than consequences of office romance. The factors that contribute to proliferation of romance in the work environment including the role of perception are considered. The role of management in addressing office romance through policies and the obvious limitation and futility of such initiatives is the final perspective looked at with specific emphasis on Kenya.

The authors consider and lay bare the entire spectrum of love relationships and sexual escapades within the work environment which compare well with the situation in Kenya today. I see them emphasizing how it is imperative on manages to develop effective systems to manage this precarious phenomenon because it is hard to set and implement corrective measures. Research findings quoted seem to suggest that majority of workers are more concerned with embarrassment of being caught in the act than the punishment for engaging in sexual acts at the place of work, which is an indication that work and sex can be balanced in the workplace as long as one doesn’t affect the other. There is hence no need for serious office romance inhibitors.

A keen look at some of the motivating factors encouraging office romance reveal a clear link between career development and sex especially among women. This compares well with the situation in Kenya today where the simplest explanation for the rise of beautiful women in the workplace is mostly attributed to the power of their “behind”. I agree with the authors when they express the frustration of victims and culprits alike in treatment they receive from colleagues in the workplace who can’t separate fact from fiction, truth from rumors when it comes to office romance since it...