Consensual Relationship Agreements Are Used to Protect

Consensual relationship agreements are used to protect both employers and employees from unwanted litigation. The contracts are legally binding, and "shield employers from liability if intimacy later congeals into a sexual harassment lawsuit or some other discord, (Selvin, 2007). Sexual harassment is not the only concern about workplace romances, from a legal or a human resources standpoint. As Tyler (2008) points out, "workplace romances can lead to accusations of poor judgment, breaches of ethics, favoritism, lost productivity, poor employee morale, sexual harassment claims and even workplace violence." Consensual relationship agreements are also important from a public relations standpoint. They prevent a senior executive's dalliances with a coworker to become the source of bad publicity. Therefore, the consensual relationship agreement has the potential to help any organization. Commonly or colloquially known as "love contracts," consensual relationship agreements are usually handled by the company's human resources department. Consensual relationship agreements are a useful, helpful, and in many cases indispensible human resources tool.

Romantic relationships in the workplace have become more common and need to be addressed seriously not just from the perspective of whether there will be a sexual harassment lawsuit, but also for general good management. Office romances have become "more numerous" (Selvin 2007). Selvin (2007) notes, "a recent survey found that 43% of U.S. workers admit to having dated a co-worker, and many of those relationships lead to marriage." Likewise, Tyler (2008) claims, "according to a 2003 survey by Vault.com, an online career center, 47% of the 1,000 professionals surveyed had been involved in an office romance, and another 19% would consider it." The prevalence of office romances in multiple sectors proves that all organizations need to seriously considering implementing a policy whereby employees can sign consensual relationship agreements.

An important counterargument to consider is that many employees might not be willing to sign the relationships. If employees refuse to sign but then engage in the romantic relationship anyway, this could reflect poorly on management. Another possible counterargument is that strict "no dating" policies might be far more effective in managing the risk associated with allowing any office romance. Some employees might claim they were coerced to sign the contracts, thereby compounding the problems.

Consensual relationship agreements can be considered a form of risk management. They can help prevent costly litigation, and reduce unnecessary or unwanted costs for the organization. However, the agreements are also important from a general operations standpoint, because a botched employee relationship can lead to a loss of productivity and general chaos. In short, the use of consensual relationship agreements helps to "maintain a functional office environment." (Tyler, 2008). Operations issues are especially true for smaller organizations.