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Chapter 45 - Jim and Pam Made This Look So Easy

Hailey G. Gillen Hoke, Sean M. Horan, Renee L. Cowan, and Rebecca M. Chory

Synopsis

Sophie Erikson is a young woman who has just started a new job and a new romantic relationship…with her boss. Sophie deals with her coworkers’ reactions to her relationship with her superior and considers the implications this workplace romance has for her professional reputation and career. From a coworker offering unsolicited advice about workplace romances to office gossip and coworkers’ negative perceptions of her motives and behavior, Sophie must navigate the unique experience of being in a workplace romance with an organizational superior.

Keywords: Workplace Romance, Workplace Relationships, Superior-subordinate Relationships, Interpersonal Communication, Gender

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Key Takeaways

  1. Organizational members tend to have negative perceptions of coworkers involved in workplace romances, such as perceiving them as less credible, less driven by genuine love motives, and more driven by job-related motives. They also trust these coworkers less, feel less solidarity with them, and perceive them as receiving unfair advantages due to their romance.
  2. Organizational members tend to engage in antisocial behaviors toward coworkers involved in workplace romances, such as deceiving them and being less honest and accurate in their self-disclosures to them.
  3. Organizational members’ perceptions of and behaviors toward coworkers in workplace romances are impacted by the status dynamic of the romance (e.g., superior-subordinate, peer-peer) and the sex of the coworker. Superior-subordinate romances are perceived and responded to more negatively than peer-peer romances and women in workplace romances are perceived and responded to more negatively than men in workplace romances.
  4. Workplace romances have legal implications, ranging from issues due to unclear or lack of policies, as well as concerns regarding sexual harassment and sexual favoritism.
  5. Management and organizational members should be aware of the implications of workplace romances, including negative coworker perceptions, destructive coworker behaviors, and legal ramifications.

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