Moving beyond a legal‐centric approach to managing workplace romances: organizationally sensible recommendations for HR leaders

Pierce, Charles A.; Aguinis, Herman

doi:10.1002/hrm.20289

Cited by 48 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 53 publications

(103 reference statements)

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“…Despite organizations' fears, relatively few harassment lawsuits stem from workplace romances (Pierce et al, 2008). Consequently, researchers have recommended that HR leaders should shift their focus from using a legal-centric approach to an organizationally sensible approach for managing workplace romances (Pierce and Aguinis, 2009). An organizationally sensible approach would not focus on the potential for harassment claims at the expense of other work criteria (e.g., employees' job performance (Roehling and Wright, 2006)).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, some think that workplace romances are a private matter and should not be managed via organizational policies and procedures (Lickey et al, 2009). Given that workplace romances may be considered a private matter, are part of organizational life, and can be beneficial (Pierce and Aguinis, 2009), we predict that individuals will perceive an organization's romance policy and relationship agreement as fair if they contain lenient as opposed to restrictive stipulations. An example of a lenient policy is one that allows romances between peers but prohibits romances between supervisors and their subordinates.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Role of workplace romance policies and procedures on job pursuit intentions

Pierce

Karl²,

Brey³

2012

Journal of Managerial Psychology

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Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by emerald-srm:573577 [] For AuthorsIf you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -This paper seeks to examine experimentally the effects of stipulations in an organization's workplace romance policy and procedures on individuals' perceptions of fairness, workplace fun, person-organization (P-O) fit, organizational attraction, and intent to pursue employment in the organization. Design/methodology/approach -A total of 103 business students and 79 casino employees assumed the role of a job seeker. They read one of five versions of a vignette that describes an organization's romance policy and consensual relationship agreement, and completed measures of dependent and control variables. Findings -An organization's type of romance policy has an effect on individuals' perceptions of fairness of the policy and degree to which the organization would be a fun place to work, and its type of consensual relationship agreement has an effect on individuals' perceptions of the degree to which the organization treats its employees fairly. The results also indicate that individuals' perceptions of the fairness of the type of romance policy and relationship agreement are positively associated with the degree to which they perceive the organization to be a fun place to work and their perceived P-O fit. Individuals' perceptions of the organization being a fun place to work and P-O fit are, in turn, positively associated with their organizational attraction, which, in its turn, is positively associated with their job pursuit intentions. Practical implications -Perceived fairness of stipulations in an organization's romance policy and procedures may signal to job seekers the degree to which the organization would be a fun place to work, provide P-O fit, and be attractive to pursue as an employer. Thus, with respect to managing workplace romances proactively via policies and procedures, organizations should consider the fairness perceptions of job seekers and not just organizational members. Originality/value -This is the first study to show that workplace romance policies and procedures may play a role in job pursuit intentions.

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Role of workplace romance policies and procedures on job pursuit intentions

Pierce

Karl²,

Brey³

2012

Journal of Managerial Psychology

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“…Other policies focus on hierarchical relationships in which power differences exist. Many policies focus on avoiding workplace gossip and rumors (Cowan & Horan, 2014;Paul & Townsend, 1998;Pierce & Aguinis, 2009) and discourage fraternization among employees (Shaefer & Tudor, 2001). Despite such policies, some organizations avoid interfering in workplace romances out of concern about possibly violating human rights (Wilson, 2015).…”

Section: Organization Policy and Workplace Romancesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most empirical studies on workplace romance (e.g., Anderson & Fisher, 1991;Brown & Allgeier, 1996;Horan & Chory, 2011;Mainiero, 1986;Powell, 2001;Quinn, 1977) have relied mainly on data from co-workers' observations and self-report surveys (Wilson, 2015), which can provide useful knowledge on organization morale and equitable employee treatment (Cowan & Horan, 2014;Liberman & Okimoto, 2008;Pierce & Aguinis, 2009). However, it is also important to conduct interviews and discussions with people who have experienced workplace romance to supplement the largely third-person perspective of previous research with first-person perceptions.…”

Section: Summary and Aimmentioning

confidence: 99%

Workplace Romances: “Going to Work Is Amazing and Really Fun”

Tengberg

Tidefors

2016

IJPS

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Much of the research on workplace romance has been conducted in the United States, and the focus has often been on negative consequences and risks for gender discrimination. The purpose of this study was to obtain an understanding of workplace romance through the point of view of those involved. Data were collected from five female participants and five male participants in separate focus groups; all participants had started a love affair at work. The thematic analysis of the transcripts showed that having a workplace romance was mostly a positive experience. However, all participants described the need to keep their romances secret for two main reasons: one, to avoid possible negative consequences, and the other, to enjoy feelings associated with a secret love affair. To some degree, the participants seemed to excuse themselves more readily than others whose behavior they thought was worse. When asked about workplace rules and policies, the participants wavered between expressing negative views and describing situations where rules could be needed.Keywords: excitement, focus group study, secrecy, sexuality, workplace romance IntroductionIn his article, "Coping with Cupid", Quinn (1977) examined workplace romances, focusing on people's motives to engage in such relationships. Subsequent research has not closely addressed the issues raised by Quinn's research. Mainiero (1986) described workplace romances as the "new sexual revolution" and Parks (2006) claimed the phenomenon was relatively common. Powell's (2012) study, one of the few to address the consequences of workplace romances from an organizational perspective, attributed their increase to the steady increase in women in the workplace at all organizational levels, offering the example of the United States, where women grew from 39% in 1973 to 47% of the labor force in 2010. Many Western countries have experienced a similar development, and in Sweden today 82% of all women are employed (Statistics Sweden, 2012).According to Powell and Foley (1998), managers of organizations and researchers in organizational psychology tend to be uncomfortable with discussing the topic of workplace romance and sexuality in a public forum; many researchers have no wish to be associated with the popular tabloid media's sensationalizing of romances, especially illicit ones that begin in the workplace. This resistance is less pronounced among researchers in the United States, where reportedly 90% of such research has been conducted (Boyd, 2010). However, the general theme in studies on workplace romance, especially in the United States, is often on negative consequences; positive experiences are seldom highlighted (Boyd, 2010;Wilson, 2015). Boyd explains that this harm-perspective may arise partly from a puritanical view of sexual relationships and partly from an increased focus on sexual harassment highlighted by the feminist movement. Zelizer (2009) wrote that many managers and employees may be wary of entering a workplace romance because the organization's policies ...

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“…The concepts of CSR have evolved over time, and CSR has two definitions from two points of view. The socio-philanthropic perspective defines CSR as actions and charitable programs restraining profit maximization, and the legal standpoint of complying with regulations and rules defines CSR as charitable actions beyond the minimum legal parameters (Andrews, 1973;Buehler & Shetty, 1976;Hollender, 2004;Pierce & Aguinis, 2009;D'Aprile & Talò, 2014). Donation is defined as charitable gifts or actions without any business purposes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Value Relevance of Corporate Social Responsibility: Focusing on Donation Expenditure

Kwon

2016

ASS

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This paper investigates the value relevance of corporate social responsibility. In particular, the paper examines the time lag value relevance of donation expenditure on firm value over the period of 2000-2014 in the listed Korean stock markets. Through empirical analysis, the paper provides evidence that donation expenditure has a significant effect on future firm value.The empirical results of this paper support research hypothesis 1 (donation expenses have an effect on firm value) and research hypothesis 2 (donation expenses have a time lag effect on firms' future value). In particular, the results show that donation expenses have an effect on firm value and the time lag interval is from two to 12 years. These results suggest that donation expenses can be regarded as assets that have potential for firms' future cash flows.The empirical evidence of this paper suggests there should be debate on whether the accounting treatment of donations should be changed in Korean accounting practices.

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Moving beyond a legal‐centric approach to managing workplace romances: organizationally sensible recommendations for HR leaders

Cited by 48 publications

References 53 publications

Role of workplace romance policies and procedures on job pursuit intentions

Role of workplace romance policies and procedures on job pursuit intentions

Workplace Romances: “Going to Work Is Amazing and Really Fun”

The Value Relevance of Corporate Social Responsibility: Focusing on Donation Expenditure

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