In this past weekend's edition of the Winnipeg Free Press, Gordon Sinclair Jr.wrote an article called "When personal is so much more". It was a piece addressing the fall-out from the alleged affair between Siloam Mission's CEO and Director of Communication and Development, both of whom recently resigned their positions and left the organization. It's a sad tale, as sometimes occurs when two people in a workplace become intimately involved and the relationship fails to work out. But, as is often the case when things go terribly wrong in a workplace, there are important lessons that can be learned.
LESSON #1: human rights legislation does not look to stand in the way of consensual sexual relationships between persons in the same workplace. Employers need to understand, though, that there are risks that may be run in situations where the people involved in an apparent consensual relationship are of differing levels of authority or power in the workplace.
LESSON #2: a person in a position of power who engages in a sexual relationship with a subordinate risks a negative inference being made against him or her that the relationship was not truly consesual simply by virtue of the fact that they have authority over the other person in the workplace. In other words, the assumption will be that the subordinate felt pressured or otherwise obligated by virtue of the work relationship to enter into the sexual one. As a result, the law places a high degree of responsibility on the person in the "power position" to ensure consent. Because of the view the law takes of supervisor-subordinate intimate relationships, it is very difficult for the person in authority (and the employer) to defend against a subsequent harassment complaint by the subordinate employee if the relationship goes in the tank.
LESSON#3: An office romance between individuals of differening power can also create other problems for an employer. The person in authority may find themselves in a conflict of interest in the sense that they are now unable to make rational and reasonable decisions relating to the person they were involved in the relationship with. At the very least, there will be an appearance of a conflict of interest. In addition, the person in authority will be in a prime position to retaliate against the person they were involved in the relationship with, should they decided to react in that fashion. Retaliation can, in these types of circumstances, be viewed as a specific form of sexual harassment.
LESSON#4: Openly romantic relationships can contribute to a poisoned work environment for other employees. For example, if the people involved in the relationship are explicit in their sexual conduct in the workplace, this can cause tremendous discomfort for others in the workplace, leading to a broader-based harassment claim. Alternatively, should problems in the relationship occur and spill out into the greater workplace, this can, again, impact others.
What to take from these lessons?
It is important for workplaces to recognize that their employees may develop romantic relationships with their co-workers. That isn't something neatly within an employer's control. What is in a workplace's control, though, is the measures it takes to prevent inappropriate supervisor-subordinate sexual relationships from forming and how it reacts when those relationships are discovered. In my view, it is wise for employers to caution all persons in positions of authority against getting involved in romantic relationships with those they supervise. It is good practice to stipulate that supervisors immediately disclose the development of such relationships so the employer can take appropriate steps to address the situation and limit its liability exposure. Disciplinary consequences should be tied to the failure to make such a disclosure. Alternatively, employers need to keep their eyes and ears open for signs that an intimate relationship may be occurring between a manager and employee to enable quick intervention. In both situations, the employer would be best advised to remove the subordinate from the supervisor's authority right away.
I certainly do not know what happened between the people involved in the Siloam Mission story. Hopefully, though, the lessons that can be gleaned from the fall-out relating to that situation can serve to prevent such unfortunate circumstances from occuring in your workplace.
I'd be interested in hearing any stories you have about how your workplace handles office relationships.
