SINGAPORE: A 27-year-old Singaporean worker took to Reddit to ask why couples in the workplace are required to declare their relationship to HR.
Posting on the r/askSingapore subreddit on Friday (Feb 21), she shared that she’s been working in the corporate world for three years and recently started dating a colleague who’s also part of her close friend group.
“I hate my work due to the amount of stress and extremely long working hours, and I’ve been wanting to quit for a long time,” she said. “But ever since dating him, he has been the motivation to continue working, as I get to spend time with him during overtime in the office, and we get to fight and standby together.”
However, when some of her colleagues found out about their relationship, they advised her to officially declare it to HR. This prompted her to question the necessity of such disclosures.
“I was wondering why is it a thing to declare to HR about dating in the same workplace in some companies,” she wrote.
Beyond that, she was also interested in understanding the potential downsides of dating someone at work. She asked, “What are some of the cons dating someone from the workplace? Anyone with experience please feel free to share.”
“In some companies, there is a policy for dating colleagues.”
In the discussion thread, one Redditor responded, “If the relationship did not work out, fallout can be nasty and this may affect either one or both in your work. Or things will get really awkward. However, I do see quite a number of such relationships turn out good and several eventually got married.”
Another added, “In some companies, there is a policy for dating colleagues. It sounds like yours has one, because your colleagues are advising you to declare to HR. If you work in an MNC, these policies should be in the intranet (i.e. MNC’s internal network).”
According to Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., the President and CEO of SHRM Foundation, in some companies, employees are required to disclose romantic relationships to Human Resources (HR) because these relationships can create conflicts of interest.
For example, if one partner is in a position of authority over the other, there could be concerns about favoritism, unfair treatment, or bias in decision-making.
Additionally, personal relationships at work might lead to distractions or tension that could impact the performance of the individuals involved and the overall productivity of the team or company.
For employees who are already in a relationship with a colleague, Taylor advises checking the company handbook to understand the rules and policies regarding relationship disclosures.
Featured image by freepik (for illustration purposes only)