Advancements in Organizational Communication - Dating in the Workplace - Assignment Example

Dating in the Workplace COMM 489 Advancements in Organizational Communication Lecturer Fall Dating within workplace domains is a definite negative. This is because it brings a bad name to the people who are involved in it, as well as the entire organization which is a part of the same. The individuals who are found as the culprits behind the organizational romance ideology believe that they are doing something right; however the stance is absolutely correct the other way round. Organizational romance is seen from a skeptical eye, more so because it is considered a bane and that too for all the wrong reasons. Some individuals believe that it affects them more than rifts and conflicts, which can also crop up every now and then amongst employees. Dating within the workplace is not an acceptable practice as it is looked down upon by people and indeed the organization in a very critical way. The ones associates with it are told time and again of their responsibility to remain clean and within the organizational code of conduct. Such discussions are important to comprehend because these bring about the basis of following the organizational code and its promulgation is of dire essence. More than anything else, organizational romance or dating within the workplace hinders the smooth operations of the business and puts other employees in a fix as to how they should conduct themselves. This is indeed a Catch-22 situation and one that demands immediate attention on the part of the authorities who matter the most within any organization – the top tier. This paper will study the basis of dating and how it is viewed when carried out within a workplace setting. The organizational stance on this matter should be of a stern one. The organization should issue a proper code of conduct which would put the employees under compulsion as to how they should behave when they are within the workplace realms. They have to be proper and pay complete attention towards the different tasks and processes which they have to complete when they are at work (Townsend 1998). What this really suggests is the fact that an organization is the home for comprehending how formal relationships are built, and how these could mean just formal linkages and nothing else. Any transgressions must neither be allowed nor encouraged. There is an immense amount of responsibility when one commits to do something which comes under the aegis of organizational romance or dating within the workplace settings. These are informal relationships that get cultivated within the organizations and should be kept upon a proper check by the people who matter the most (Schultz 2003). The role of the human resources management department is one of an important one. This is because it has to exactly tell as to how informal linkages should be done away with and how these could be stopped in the wake of lingering issues that have crept up every now and then. The organizational romance discourse has continued for as long as there have been business companies. This is because man is a social animal and women cannot be excluded from the same equation. They need to get along with one another so that there time passes by smoothly. However what happens for the wrong reasons is that there are some employees who believe too strongly in the informal linkages that are being built up rather than concentrating on the formal attitudes which are always appreciated within the workplace domains. The reason for selection of my option lies in the fact that I have personally experienced such a dating scenario within my workplace a couple of years back. It was when I was working for a multinational corporation of repute. I found out that my boss, who hailed from the senior management, was dating his secretary and indulged in private moments which were unbecoming of both these individuals. The employees knew what was taking place but no one dared to report this to the higher management or even the human resources management department. Everyone had a stale face as no one wanted to be a part of this organizational romance which was being carried out in broad daylight (Estlund 2003). Often times the boss and his personal secretary were found in the lobby discussing about their future and how they could start their own family. Many employees had overheard them on a number of occasions. The whole relationship started to become nasty as far as the organizational environment was concerned. Some people started gossiping with one another about their love which had developed over a period of time but nothing of note happened. The romance went along for about 6 months until the company’s owner caught them doing nasty stuff within the corridor which was very narrow and served as a passage for employees. They were found in an unpardonable act. Both of them were called to the owner’s office and fired instantly. Nothing was heard from the company’s domain after that except the fact that the employees found out that the owner absolutely abhorred their romantic ways which he caught red-handed. This served as a clear example of how things shaped up within the workplace domains. Thus it is pretty clear from this scenario that dating seniors/supervisors is an act that cannot go unnoticed. It must be treated as an unpardonable act by the higher management and should thus be taken in the same way. My opinion is based on what I saw from the above-mentioned scenario at my workplace. I understand that the negativities come out in the open as far as the organizational fabric is concerned. The employees started to have grapevine (informal discussions) within them but no one dared to do something about it. The human resources management department perhaps knew what was happening but did nothing as well. These are some of the elements that made me realize what kind of attitude existed at the workplace and how I did not like the entire scenario (Loftus 1995). Thus my reason to dislike such an organizational romance banks a great deal on what I saw and what I deciphered during the entire phase of the dating that took place between my boss and his personal secretary. Hence the employees should not be allowed to date their supervisors as well as forbidden from dating individuals within their own clans or peer groups. This is uniformity in its truest sense and should be followed in a proper manner no matter what the code of conduct within the said organization says or instructs. I believe that my choice will impact the management as they will find out the exact ways and means concerning the organizational romance regimes that are in place at the moment. They would have to find out as to how their policies need an upgrade because these are not producing the required results (Dellinger 1999). Also the employees would feel empowered because they have been hard done by and their organizational environment has been marred by a select few for all the wrong reasons. If my choice of doing away with the organizational domains is studied in a proper manner, there would be a better association level amongst the employees and they would feel attached with one another. There would be more camaraderie in place which will serve the cause of the employees more than anything else. Also the employees who plan on getting involved with dating at the workplace would know beforehand the exact repercussions of getting into one such act. These understandings are vital and should be dealt with in a proper manner. More than anything else, it is the ultimate duty of the individual under question to seek an environment which cultivates growth and fosters productivity within the realms of the workplace. Organizational romance should be stemmed in the bud so that the problem which lingers on must be done away with at the earliest. These measures would help the organization to grow as a whole and the employees would remain on their toes as far as their performance levels and their behaviors within the workplace domains are related. If the workplace communication came to an end due to the organizational romance that has thus developed within its environs, the focus shall be thrust upon finding the exact reasons as to how this workplace communication has been marred. If the reasons are hard to understand, the human resources management department can have an anonymous questionnaire filled in by the employees so that their perspectives could be checked and thus there is a room to find what is actually hampering the system as a whole (Tudor 2001). All such steps basically pinpoint the need for having an environment which is clean from all angles and devoid of any issues that crop up for all the wrong reasons. The emphasis should clearly be focused on doing things right, not only for the organization but also for the sake of the environment that exists within the realms of the company. These steps would essentially find out the real reasons why employees feel alienated from one another and how they view the entire debate of dating in the workplace suitable or the lack thereof. Employees should be properly questioned about their thinking ideologies. If no reasons are found, it is always good to have a one-on-one question-answer session with the employees who feel it the most. This would provide them the solutions which are important for one to decipher within the thick of things. The workplace relationships must not die down just because the workplace communication is no longer a reality. Thus such reasons must be taken a deep look at by the human resources management department before it decides to find out the real reasons behind the breakdown in the workplace communication regimes. In the end, what I need to be mindful of is the need to understand how different individuals would react and behave if the workplace communication is marred by dating that takes place within its folds (Hughes 2005). Also I would be looking at the different options as and when they come about, and how the same would affect the workplace relationships in the long run. I believe that the breakdown in communication is directly linked with the ineffectiveness of the human resources management department. Therefore all-out efforts will be made to keep away the negativities that exist within the related workplace environment – the most important of which is the need for avoiding the dating that starts within an organization. The informal relationships should remain just that – informal relationships, and must not be understood from a different angle at all. References Dellinger, K (1999). Sexuality in the Workplace: Organizational Control, Sexual Harassment, and the Pursuit of Pleasure. Annual Review of Sociology Estlund, C (2003). Working Together: How Workplace Bonds Strengthen a Diverse Democracy. Oxford University Press Hughes, Z (2005). Dating on the Job: Is it Really Worth it? Ebony, Vol. 60, September Loftus, M (1995). Romance in the Workplace. USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), Vol. 124, November Schultz, V (2003). The Sanitized Workplace. Yale Law Journal, Vol. 112 Townsend, J (1998). Managing the Workplace Romance: Protecting Employee and Employer Rights. Review of Business, Vol. 19 Tudor, T (2001). Managing Workplace Romances. SAM Advanced Management Journal, Vol. 66 Read More