Workplace Romance in the Hospitality Industry - Research Paper Example

? Running head: WORKPLACE ROMANCE IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY Workplace Romance in the Hospitality Industry Traditionally the hospitality industry has been a domain where there has been an equal participation of both the genders. Unlike some other industries like the construction industry the participation of women in the hospital industry has had a long history and in the recent times the participation extends from low skilled jobs like receptionists, chambermaids or housekeeping staffs to managers and administrators. As a result of this constant sharing of working space there remains a high chance of the workers in the hospitality industry getting romantically involved with each other. Every worker spends a considerable amount of the day in his or her office. Above that the workers in the hospitality industry work under stressful conditions like round the day duties and living up to the demands of people of different kinds. As a result seeking supports from co-workers and consequent blooming of romance between them is prevalent trend in this industry. In any office environment the co-workers share a lot of feeling like experiences, interests, fears, setbacks and achievements with each other. Therefore it can be seen that the factors responsible for giving birth to romance are always present in the working environment. The constant sharing of emotions may lead to the development of emotional and romantic leanings on each other. The usual office romance varies from casual flings and affairs to the more serious relationships. In the hospitality industry there are also many instances of sexual harassment between co-workers and the scholars have distinguished the workplace romance from sexual advances. Workplaces romances in have been defined as relationship based on mutual desire and physical attraction between the workers of the same organization. It is also necessary that the people have found each other through the course of their work and the relationship is consensual. For romance between workers separated by hierarchy it is important that the romance spreads beyond the traditional employer employee relationship. Workers from all age group have been found to be associated with workplace romance. However the highest probability of romance between colleagues lies in the age group from 35 to 44. In a survey almost 44% of the interviewee in this age group has admitted to date their co-workers (Pearce, 2010). Some very important points of discussion about workplace romance have been the causes for the development of the romance, the effect of office romance on the peers and environment of the office as well as on the people involved directly and the managerial decision or attitude towards accepting the romance (Odgers, 2004, pp 221-222; Burke, Mattis, 2005 p 153; Sias, 2009, p 140). It will be relevant to mention that many of the organizations have a defined policy on workplace romance though no such references could be found directly for the hospitality industry. It has often been debated whether workplace romance leads to better performance of the employees and also the effect of romance on the other co-workers Reasons and the Consequences of Office Romance According to Fiona M. Wilson (2007) the study of romance in office as a sociological subject started 30 years ago. Such studies were of immense interest for the management who wanted to know the consequence on the organization as a result of romances between the workers. According to Peter Corser (2011), a person spends a third of their day in their office. Under such a situation the author finds it natural for romance to brew between the co-workers. Moreover it can also be mentioned here that for people working in a team the skills, experiences and the knowledge are very similar. Therefore there is a high chance of people sharing common interests and therefore finding each other attractive. However he has also noted that many organizations have discouraging policies for such romances. The organization has several reasons for discouraging the employees including chances of conflict between personal interests and professional interests and also an adverse effect on the productivity in the office. For human resource professionals in the hospitality industry it is essential to deal with office romance to keep the employees happy and maintain the office environment as well as the productivity of the organization. The workplace romances can happen in three different ways. The first one is a romantic relation between the co-workers or peers (Wolgemouth, 2010). The second kind is relationship between the supervisor and subordinate. The third type of workplace romance is a romantic relationship where either or both are married. Each of the above three kinds have problems of their own though it can be said that the third one will be the most complicated of all (Lickey, Berry, Whelan-Berry, 2009). In many of the instances in the hospitality industry the perception of the administration to the relationships and the romances in the office are that of ‘problems’. The administrators are apprehensive of such emotional bonding between the employees. The administration fears that the romances may lead to a loss of productivity for the organization by affecting the performances of the employees. Sometimes public display of affection among employees may also lead to a loss of reputation for the organization. There are also some other problems like gossips among the other co-workers or the chances of allegations of sexual harassments and bullying. The attitude among many human resource professionals in the industry is of hostility towards such relations. According to them such problems are to be managed in such a way to make the workers discontinue the affair. However Pearce (2011) differs that the administration takes a policy of eliminating romantic relations between the employers. According to him many of the relationships between the workers help to build the spirit within the office. However there are some sexual relationships that can affect the office environment by changing the dynamics of the office and create animosity among the co-workers. In the hospitality industry the workplace romance takes various forms like a romantic relationship between the co-workers or a romantic relationship between the customer and the worker. In the Caribbean hotels like those of Dominican Republic there are many instances of romance between the customer and the hotel staffs. There are several reasons behind the development of workplace romance in the hospitality industry. A very significant reason has been cited by Amalia L. Cabezas (2009, p102 -103). According to her in the hospitality industry many of the jobs requires a dose of sexuality. There are several roles for the women like chamber maids and air hostesses or cocktail waitresses that require her to have a certain amount of friendliness and sexiness. According to the author the hospitality industry uses sexuality like flirting or some other display of affection to present their products and services. Under such a situation development of romance between the workers or between a worker and a customer can become inevitable. Under such a situation where the nature of job lies on the margin of affection and romance controlling such office romance becomes difficult. Moreover the hospitality jobs require more interaction between the staff members. As a result the chances of attraction increase. According to Pierce and Byrne (1996) exposure is an important factor for the development of romance. However there are many positive effects of office romance that have been discussed below. In the hospitality industry there are several advantages of a workplace relationship between the workers. The foremost advantage is the amount of fuel that can be injected to the work as a result of increase in inspiration from the love relationship. Moreover if the romance matures into a more sustained relationship like marriage or non-marital committed relationship then the workplace can seem more satisfactory for both the person that will ultimately benefit the organization. The jobs in the hospitality industry can sometime turn out to be more demanding than the other industries with erratic work hours including night duties and long hours of work. In such a circumstances the workplace romances enables more engagement opportunities for the couple including travel together and have lunch together. Therefore such jobs may provide more job satisfaction to the workers than the jobs where the spouses work separately. This may also help to gain the commitments of the workers towards the organization, as the couple would prefer the organization to other organizations where they will have to work separately. Therefore this will lead to better morale among the employees and more productivity and creativity in their job. There can also be positive effect on the teamwork (Knox & Scahcht, 2009, p 55; Mano & Gabriel, 2006). There are however needs to keep checks and control on workplace romance and it can sometimes turn problematic for the office environment. One of the most common forms of workplace romances takes place between workers and their supervisors. These types of romances can lead to tricky situations for the office environment and the co-workers. There have been many allegations of biased behavior or favoritism when the romance happens between a worker and their supervisor. There have been instances of workers blaming that they were denied a certain benefit because some other person has a romantic affair with the supervisor. Such allegations can pose difficult situations for the human resource managers in the hospitality industry. In a case of a breakup of relationship between workers in an organization separated by hierarchy several problems may crop up. In case of a failed relationship the subordinate can claim coercion by the supervisor in order to get benefits. The problem can also occur the other way. The supervisor on the other hand can sometimes withhold the promotions or benefits of the subordinate in fear of losing the relationship. The above two situations pose certain legal hassles even for the employer. Firstly the subordinate can file a lawsuit based on sexual harassment charges in the workplace. Even the co-workers can file a lawsuit against the employers based on discrimination brought by sexual charges. Therefore workplace romance can pose a delicate situation for the managers and needs to be dealt with assertively and tactically. The morale of other workers may also be affected and they may feel a sense of resentment towards the people engaged. There may be other consequences of workplace romance within a team. As a result of romantic relation the workers may withdraw from the rest of the team. This may hamper the team spirit and the other co-workers may feel uncomfortable or irritated towards the couple. In such a situation, being socially responsible and keeping the relationship within wraps in the professional space may be the best alternative available to the involved people (Odgers, 2004, pp 221-222). For the managers, Amaral (2006) has prescribed that the subordinate can be transferred under another supervisor to help the situation. She gives three advantages of the above measure. The foremost benefit of the above measure is that both the person gets to keep their job at the organization in their respective designations without getting displaced. The measure also gives some advantage to the subordinate by removing any chances of coercion by the supervisor. The subordinate is then free to refuse any advances by the supervisor that she does not have consent to. Moreover it also saves the environment of the office by removing the opportunities of the co-workers to make allegations of favoritism or biased behavior. Challenges for the Management and Policies A romantic relationship between workers has been a growing trend in the organizations around the world. There have been several studies and discussions about the effect of such romances and the consequent role of the management to deal with such relations. Though workplace romances in the hospitality industry have been present for a long time, in the recent times it has become more open. In most cases of workplace romances the higher authority accepts the fact though with a bit of grudge. In many of the organization there are some policies regarding office romances. However in most of the cases the administration decides that consensual relation between two workers are beyond the scope of the management. There are also some realizations on the part of the management that any preventive measures against such romances may not be able to stop the relation and may take cause other problems. Some of the problems are that the employee may get resentful or they become secretive about the relation. Realistic observations reveal that it may almost be impossible to prevent workplace romances especially in the hospitality industry where there is a close association between the people. There may also be other legal challenges for a secret relation like proving the relation to be consensual in case of lawsuits. Therefore there is a certain level of tolerance among the employers towards the workplace romances though in all cases they are not encouraged or completely accepted. In some organizations the culture or the rigid hierarchical structure also prevents the management to know about the romance until a very developed stage. This makes it difficult for the managers to take appropriate steps at the onset of the romance. Therefore to make early interventions the manager has to be cautious and look for signs such as two people spending more time together than before. However such signals can also be misinterpreted when there is no actual involvement. Furthermore it can be emphasized that without a clear organizational policy or strategy it is more difficult to deal with situation. Research suggests that in most of the organizations there is an absence of workplace romance policies (Parks, 2006). There can also be inconsistency among the decisions of the different managers based on differing ideas and perception. This may lead to incorrect dismissal or employee transfer. Inconsistency will further lead to a fresh round of complications and allegations of differential treatment. Therefore such situations require proactive response from the employer, a well-defined policy and a consistency of decisions by the managers (Theresa, 1995; Lickey, Berry, Whelan-Berry, 2009). Conclusion In most of the literatures regarding office romance in the hospitality industry it has been emphasized that a well-set guidelines is necessary to control the environment of the office. Workplace romances have certain advantages. But the situation may also have adverse ramifications if the relationship goes wrong. Therefore the guidelines must lay down the boundary for such relationships. It is also noteworthy that though a set of rules and regulations are required, too strict regulations may ultimately lead to adverse results. Therefore the policy must be lenient and employee friendly although some level of assertiveness should be present. The foremost criteria for such a policy is to recognize that workplace romance are bound to happen and many measures to stop them completely may lead to such romances going underground. A very important feature of the organizational policy towards office romance should be an effective mechanism where the employees are able to report their relationships to the higher authority. It is also essential that the anonymity of the employee who reports should be ensured. There should also be a method of mediating any problems occurring between the workers through third party interference. However there should also be provisions for warnings or disciplining measures in case of extreme situations. The policy should have a well laid down definition of office romance to separate it from sexual harassment. The disciplining measures should be reasonable and they should be applied in cases of noncompliance. There should also be an environment of trust and support among the workers. The adoption of workplace romance policy the organization would ensure that within the boundary of guidelines the employees are free to pursue their romantic interests, which will eventually benefit the organization.  References Amaral, H.P. (2006), Workplace Romance and Fraternization Policies, University of Rhode Island, Retrieved on June 29, 2011, from: http://www.uri.edu/research/lrc/research/papers/Amaral_Fraternization.pdf Burke, R. J. & M.C. Mattis (2005), Supporting Women’s Career Development: challenges and opportunities, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing. Cabezas, A. L. (2009), Economics of Desire: Sex and Tourism in Cuba and the Dominican Republic, Pennsylvania: Temple University Press. Corser, P. (2011), How to…survive an office romance, Community Care, 1852, 30-30 Knox, D. & C. Schacht (2009), Choices in Relationships: An Introduction to Marriage and Family, Stanford: Cengage Learning.  Lickey, N. C. Beryy, G. R. & K.S. Whelan-Berry (2009), Responding to Workplace Romance: A Proactive and Pragmatic Approach, The Journal Of Business Inquiry, 8(1), 100-119, Retrieved on June 29, 2011, from: http://www.uvu.edu/woodbury/jbi/volume8/journals/RespondingtoWorkplaceRomance.pdf Mano R. & Y. Gabriel, (2006) Workplace Romances in cold and hot organizational climates: The experiences of Israel and Taiwan, Human Relations, 59(1), 7-35 Odgers, P. (2004), Administrative Office Management: Complete Course, Stanford: Cengage Learning. Parks, M. (2006), 2006 Workplace Romance: Poll Findings, Career Journal, January Retrieved on June 29, 2011, from: http://www.lrgllc.com/rpubs/7.pdf Pearce, J.A. II (2010), What Execs Don’t Get About Office Romance, MIT Sloan Management Review, Spring Pierce, C.A. & D. Byrne (1996), Attraction in Organizations: a model of workplace romance, Journal of Organizational Behavior, 17, 5-32. Sias, P.M. (2009) Organizing Relationships: Traditional and Emerging Perspectives on Workplace Relationships, UK: Sage Publishing. Spencer, M. (2010), The End of Office Affair?, Bloomberg Businesweek, 4196, 73-75. Theresa, B. (1995), Managers Perceptions of Workplace Romances: An Interview Study, Journal of Business and Psychology, 10(2), 169-176 Wilson F. M. (2007), Don’t Screw the Crew: Exploring the Rules of Engagement in Organizational Management, British Journal of Management, 18(1) 79-92 Wolgemouth, L. (2010), Wary about Chancing Workplace Romance, US News and World Report, 147(11), 56-56 Read More