Congratulations!

Congratulations to Astron Solutions’ client Utica National Insurance Group.  Utica National will receive the Ursula Flagg Award for Human Resource Excellence in Human Resource Development on October 19^th.  The Mohawk Valley SHRM chapter in Utica, NY annually gives the Ursula Flagg Awards in a variety of HR categories.

 

Welcome to the Family!
 

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Mercury Air Group

Mercury Air Group is a global leader in the aviation services industry. Their core businesses include providing fuel and related services to commercial, business, and government aviation customers as well as air cargo services for airlines and forwarders.  Veterans of the American Volunteer Group - Flying Tigers founded Mercury Air Cargo after World War II.

Currently, Mercury Air Group conducts business on five continents, spanning the globe with more than 75 locations in all.

Astron Solutions has been working with Mercury Air on their customized Sales Compensation Audit, providing an up-to-the minute look at their diverse sales staff.  The results will allow Mercury Air to provide a state-of-the-art sales compensation program to their employees.

 

“My Cubicle or Yours?” HR’s Response to Workplace Romances

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It all started innocently enough.  Monica Smith* sat directly next to Matt Walden* at the busy law office where they both worked.  After a few months of shared lunch hours and happy hour socializing, they decided to take their newly found friendship to the next level.  “We formed an instant bond that quickly turned romantic.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t thinking of the possible consequences at the time,” she explained.

Nor do many employees entering into workplace romances.  But who could blame them?  Work accounts for the better part of an individual’s week, and it’s only natural that certain attractions between employees may surface.  Of course, many healthy workplace romances thrive without incident, but when romance turns sour or interferes with productivity, the results can be detrimental to both employees and employers.

In a 2002 SHRM / CareerJournal.com survey on workplace romance, findings show that the majority of Human Resource professionals (81 percent) and corporate executives (76 percent) believe that romances are dangerous because they can lead to conflict in the workplace.  Of these two groups, 76% and 71%, respectively, agree that workplace romance is something they would personally avoid.   

Although most agree that workplace romance is not a wise idea, very few organizations have instituted policies banning it.  Former SHRM President and CEO, Helen Drinan, SPHR, explains in the article that there is a better way to handle the situation.  “It’s natural that when people work together closely, romantic feelings sometimes emerge.  That is why organizations need a workplace romance policy to help set guidelines for what is and is not appropriate, and to prepare the organization for challenges that may arise.”

Workplace romance policies also help ease organizations’ concerns about possible sexual harassment charges, threats to productivity, and other negative circumstances resulting from office relationships.  The Workforce.com Expert Q & A on Workplace Romance offers advice on how organizations can protect themselves.  The first step would be to institute a policy that requires the parties involved in a workplace relationship to disclose that relationship to management or human resources. Employers can then make appropriate staffing decisions to assure that the more senior person involved in the relationship has no control or influence over the work assignment of the other person at any time. Employers can also require employees to advise the company if the relationship terminates or if it changes to an involuntary situation. This can protect the organization from sexual harassment claims that can be later made by an employee stating that the relationship was forced or coerced.

In the Workforce.com article, “When Office Love Goes Bad,” it is clear that banning office romances is not recommended.  As stated, “No one has estimated how many valuable workers desert jobs with dating taboos so that they can see their sweetheart without apology, or determined how much time and money is spent to implement and enforce rules against workplace intimacy.”  

So what happened to Monica and Matt?  After three months of dating, and being the focus of an office rumor mill that could rival The National Enquirer, the pressure of carrying on a relationship at work became too much for them to bear.  They decided to part ways, after which they were suddenly faced with the harsh reality of working with an “ex” every day.  Sadly, the friendship that they once shared was lost, daily work activities and after-work outings with co-workers became awkward and uncomfortable, and finally, Monica, a valued employee, decided to leave the firm.  

In contrast to the derailment of Monica and Matt’s relationship, there are a good number of workplace romances that have happy endings.  According to the SHRM survey, a majority of HR professionals (66 percent) and corporate executives (57 percent) reported that over the past five years, employees who had been involved in a workplace romance got married.  In fact, even Microsoft mogul Bill Gates married Marketing Manager Melinda French in 1994.  Today, they are happily married with a daughter.   

* Names have been changed to protect the individuals’ anonymity.

Please note: You must first register, or log in, at workforce. com in order to access the links to their articles.

Have you ever dated someone from work? Be sure to vote in this week's on-line poll!