Three Reasons Why Fraternizing at Work Doesn't Work

A friend of mine - let's call her Annie - has a friend who manages a well known fast food restaurant in her small city. Annie asked her friend - let's call her Patty - if she was hiring. Annie's son was working at a different fast food restaurant. He wasn't getting many hours. Patty, conscientious manager that she is, hired Annie's son on the spot. He started the next day.

The young man was a great asset to the restaurant. He was always on time. He worked hard. He seemed like management material. He was a good listener, too. When Patty and her boyfriend broke up, he offered her a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on.

The problems started when Patty wanted to take that shoulder and the rest of the guy home with her.

The situation heretofore described is called fraternizing. Fraternization is described in Wikipedia as "'turning people into brothers'- conducting social relations with people who are actually unrelated and/or of a different class (especially those with whom one works) as though they were siblings, family members, personal friends or lovers. In and of itself, fraternizing is a good thing. However, bad things can and do happen. Let's explore three possible results of one the job love.

Setup for a big OUCH!

First of all, for a boss and an employee to have a love relationship, it puts them both in jeopardy of being hurt. The employee may enjoy perks that no other employees get, but those perks usually come at a price. In some cases, the cost is physical and emotional ownership. If the employee is not enjoying or remotely comfortable with being loyal to their lover/employer, there's a problem. Bribery and blackmail are two offensive behaviors that come into play. If the employee was in it just for the perks, the employer may make his/her job a perk-less drudgery if the relationship goes sour. That brings us to the second reason why work love relationships don't work.

Setup for the unemployment line

Many job applications state that an employee can be terminated for no apparent reason. Employers who've been spurned by love have the power to send their employee lover to the jobless line long before their unemployment benefits have built up. Perhaps it's for the employee's protection that many corporations adhere to policies that forbid love relationships in the workplace. Disgruntled spurned boss or ignored company policy - either way, an employee trapped in the web of love can suffer a job loss. Quite possibly, a bad reference could follow the employee to their next job.

Setup for endangerment

Another peril of on the job love relationships is someone may lose their teeth, or something even more important. When Patty's ex-boyfriend decided it was time for him to win his Boo back, he heard from other employees that he had some competition. His motto was to annihilate any and all competition.

The fact is a boss who allows him/herself to get romantically involved with an employee may be judged unprofessional and undisciplined. For these and other reasons, it may be wise to reserve love for after hours, and for people with non-employment ties.