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This paper examines the corporate policies on workplace relationships in the insurance industry. It consists of identifying whether the 48 insurance companies found in the Fortune 500 have any policies that restrict employees from dating each other within their organization and if so, what were these restrictions. In addition, 235 employees in the insurance field were surveyed to determine their perceptions of the positive and/or negative effects of romantic relationships had in their workplace environment. These results were examined from a Platonic perspective with a recommendation for a code of ethics developed from policies existing in other insurance companies and suggested by the current literature.

Extant research on workplace ostracism has investigated a victimization perspective to understand ostracism at the cost of examining the perpetrator-centric view of ostracism. This study aims to draw on the self-categorization theory and the social exchange theory to investigate the harmful effects of workplace romance in cultivating workplace ostracism from the perspective of perpetrator to combat concerns for victim blaming. This study further proposes that workplace ostracism triggered by workplace romance provokes interpersonal conflict. Besides, this study investigates the moderating role of prosocial behavior in the underlying linkages.

This study uses a multisource, time-lagged research design to collect data from employees working in the service sector organizations in Pakistan. This study analyzes 367 responses using SmartPLS (v 4.0).

The findings of this study reveal that workplace romance elicits workplace ostracism, which, in turn, fosters interpersonal conflict among coworkers. In addition, this study finds that ingroup prosocial behavior strengthens the associations between workplace romance and workplace ostracism, and workplace romance and interpersonal conflict, mediated by workplace ostracism such that the associations are more potent at higher levels of ingroup prosocial behavior and vice versa.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that examines workplace romance as the perpetrator-centric antecedent of workplace ostracism, and ingroup prosocial behavior in exaggerating the outgroup ostracism and interpersonal conflict.

Research illustrates that workplace romance is on the rise and has potentially negative and beneficial consequences. The purpose of this paper is to understand, from an individual manager and employee perspective in the UK and USA, what personal experience individuals had on workplace romance and what this meant to them personally and in terms of company policy.

A thematic analysis approach was taken to understand what experiences individuals had on workplace romance and how this experience should be reflected in company policy. The research utilised qualitative interviews which were preferred over other methods, such as focus groups by the participants. These interviews were recorded, transcribed and coded to formulate themes in the research.

The sample consists of 21 employees and 15 managers from Maryland, Oregon, Pennsylvania and England. Regardless of whether participants were from the USA or England, their opinions were similar. Managers and entry level employees feel that workplace romance was acceptable if it has minimal impact on the workplace. Managers and entry level employees are most concerned with the negative impacts of workplace romance on the atmosphere of the workplace, more so than the risk of sexual harassment lawsuits. Managers and entry level employees agree on the importance of companies having a policy on how workplace romance will be handled.

Both managers and employees stress that company policy should not place a complete ban on workplace romance; that workplace romances should be handled on a case by case basis.

The paper adds to existing research by comparing managers' and entry level employees' perceptions of consensual romantic relationships between people who work for the same organisation.

The #MeToo movement has brought questions of sexuality and power in the workplace to the forefront. The purpose of this paper is to review the research on hierarchial consensual workplace romances and sexual harassment examining the underlying mechanisms of power relations. It concludes with a call to action for organizational leaders to adopt fair consensual workplace romance policies alongside strong sexual harassment policies.

This paper represents a conceptual review of the literature on consensual workplace romance, sexual harassment, passive leadership and power relations. Passive leadership leads to a climate of incivility that in turn suppresses disclosures of sexual harassment (Lee, 2016). Consensual workplace romances across hierarchical power relations carry significant risks and may turn into harassment should the romance turn sour.

Two new concepts, sexual hubris and sexploitation, are defined in this paper. Sexual hubris, defined as an opportunistic mindset that allows the powerful to abuse their power to acquire sexual liaisons, and its opposite, sexploitation, defined as a lower-status member using sexuality to gain advantage and favor from an upper-level power target, are dual opportunistic outcomes of an imbalanced power relation. Sexual hubris may increase the likelihood for sexual harassment such that a mindset occurs on the part of the dominant coalition that results in feelings of entitlement. Sexploitation is a micromanipulation tactic designed to create sexual favoritism that excludes others from the power relation.

Sexual hubris and sexploitation are conceptualized as an opportunistic mechanisms associated with imbalanced power relations to spur future research to tease out complex issues of gender, sexuality and hierarchy in the workplace. Sexual hubris serves to protect the dominant coalition and shapes organizational norms of a climate of oppression and incivility. Conversely, sexploitation is a micromanipulation tactic that allows a lower-status member to receive favoritism from a higher-power target. Four research propositions on sexual hubris and sexploitation are presented for future scholarship.

Most organizational leaders believe consensual romance in the office cannot be legislated owing to privacy concerns. Passive leadership is discussed as a leadership style that looks the other way and does not intervene, leading to workplace hostility and incivility (Lee, 2016). Inadequate leadership creates a climate of passivity that in turn silences victims. Policies concerning consensual workplace romance should stand alongside sexual harassment policies regardless of privacy concerns.

The #MeToo movement has allowed victims to disclose sexual misconduct and abuse in the workplace. However, the prevalence of sexual harassment claims most often can be traced to a leadership problem. Employers must recognize that sexual hubris and sexploitation arise from imbalances of power, where sex can be traded for advancement, and that often consensual workplace romances end badly, leading to claims of sexual harassment. Consensual romance policies must stand alongside sexual harassment policies.

Sexual hubris and sexploitation are offered as novel concepts that provide a mechanism for conceptualizing the potential for abuse and manipulation from unbalanced power relations. These are original concepts derived from the arguments within this paper that help make the case for consensual workplace romance policies alongside sexual harassment policies.

This paper seeks to examine experimentally the effects of stipulations in an organization's workplace romance policy and procedures on individuals' perceptions of fairness, workplace fun, person‐organization (P‐O) fit, organizational attraction, and intent to pursue employment in the organization.

A total of 103 business students and 79 casino employees assumed the role of a job seeker. They read one of five versions of a vignette that describes an organization's romance policy and consensual relationship agreement, and completed measures of dependent and control variables.

An organization's type of romance policy has an effect on individuals' perceptions of fairness of the policy and degree to which the organization would be a fun place to work, and its type of consensual relationship agreement has an effect on individuals' perceptions of the degree to which the organization treats its employees fairly. The results also indicate that individuals' perceptions of the fairness of the type of romance policy and relationship agreement are positively associated with the degree to which they perceive the organization to be a fun place to work and their perceived P‐O fit. Individuals' perceptions of the organization being a fun place to work and P‐O fit are, in turn, positively associated with their organizational attraction, which, in its turn, is positively associated with their job pursuit intentions.

Perceived fairness of stipulations in an organization's romance policy and procedures may signal to job seekers the degree to which the organization would be a fun place to work, provide P‐O fit, and be attractive to pursue as an employer. Thus, with respect to managing workplace romances proactively via policies and procedures, organizations should consider the fairness perceptions of job seekers and not just organizational members.

This is the first study to show that workplace romance policies and procedures may play a role in job pursuit intentions.

The advent of the #MeToo movement has brought forth increased national and global attention to sexual assault, abuse, misconduct, discrimination and harassment in the workplace, especially by prominent executives against subordinate female employees. Accordingly, in this article, we are thoroughly analyzing one aspect of office romance and sexual conduct in the workplace, mainly sexual favoritism in the era of the #MeToo movement.

This is a legal and case-based human resource policies paper. It reviews actual workplace romance cases, policies and court-based decisions to create practical recommendations that can be used by managers, entrepreneurs and corporations for their organizations. One delimitation of this paper is the fact that it focuses on the US context. Another is that, while organizational behavior researchers have empirically studied various workplace romance policies and practices, the paper is a case-by-case analysis of sexual favoritism. “Specifically, the legal research for this article was conducted on the law database, Nexis Uni Legal, in the Cases (both federal and state) and Law Reviews and Journals sub-databases, using the direct key words in quotations “workplace romance,” “office romance,” “sexual favoritism,” and/or “paramour preference,” as well as the indirect key words “appearance discrimination, “preferring the pretty,” and/or “lookism.” As the authors' intent was to examine the legal and practical consequences emanating from the #MeToo Movement, the authors concentrated their search on cases and law reviews from 2012 to February 2021.

Research shows that about 35–42% of women have experienced some form of sexual harassment or sex discrimination at work. Many of the high-profile sexual cases that generated the #MeToo movement involved powerful executives asserting that their romantic relationships with subordinates in the workplace were “merely” consensual office romance or sexual favoritism. As a result of the #MeToo movement, employers have been compelled to reconsider how they should respond to sexual discrimination, sexual harassment, office romance and sexual favoritism in the workplace. This article offers best practices for policymakers and human resources professionals.

This article's recommendations are limited to workplaces in the US and may not be relevant in other countries as the local laws might vary.

There are policy and behavioral implications for companies, managers and employees regarding workplace romance and sexual favoritism. As such, we provide policy recommendations to human resources department and management on how to provide a healthy work environment for all employees and avoid liability for sexual harassment cases pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

The awareness of policies and laws regulating office romance can help educate managers and employees in local communities as to their rights regarding relationships with coworkers and those who report to them. When people are able to date whomever they desire outside of the workplace, employers can regulate some aspects of sexual relationships in the workplace.

This is an original paper by the authors.

The purpose of this paper is to consider various managerial approaches hitherto adopted to address “workplace romance” and to determine a realistic and constructive approach to explain and manage this least known organisational phenomenon.

Consideration of the “taboo” nature of the subject and related ethical issues led to the development of three case studies, based on the qualitative data collected for analysis. The evaluation of the above cases led to the emergence of the third approach, namely, “considerate” which reflects the merits of strategic management of human resource management in the context of business strategy of the organisations.

It is concluded that the “considerate” is the most appropriate approach to manage workplace romance because it is perceived by employees as fair and well‐justified. It accounts for potential risks and rewards, thus recognising the need for a realistic policy which takes into account the organisation, its environment and its strategic business objective.

Whilst reliability of the present study is based on the analysis of multiple real‐life case studies, future studies ought to adopt “realism” as a means to bridge perception and business context in which these acts are considered.

The adoption of the proposed “considerate” approach may help HR practitioners to develop a strategy for managing workplace romance that is the most suitable for their organisation and its business strategy.

This first‐time study explores managing workplace romance in the context of strategic HR. Moreover, the developed conceptual framework enables practitioners to manage romance at work.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate whether employee attitudes, prior engagement in workplace romances, conscientiousness, and organizational policies predicted the willingness to engage in workplace romances.

In total, 148 full-time employees completed an online survey measuring antecedents of workplace romances. Participants were also randomly assigned to read vignettes that varied the strictness of organizational workplace romance policies. Then, participants completed measures of their willingness to engage in a workplace romance.

Favorable attitudes about, and prior engagement in, workplace romances were positively related to the willingness to engage in a workplace romance. Prior engagement in workplace romances and conscientiousness were both related to attitudes about workplace romances. Additionally, the interaction between conscientiousness and organizational workplace romance policies significantly predicted the willingness to engage in a workplace romance.

The current study used hypothetical scenarios and a convenience sample to collect data, which may affect the study’s external validity.

Organizations grappling with the issue of workplace romances should consider how employee characteristics may interact with policies regulating workplace romances.

This study is the first to examine the links between both prior engagement in workplace romances and personality variables (i.e. conscientiousness) and their relation to the willingness to engage in workplace romances. In addition, this is the first experimental study to examine the interaction between personality (i.e. conscientiousness) and organizational policy in predicting the willingness to engage workplace romances.

We reviewed U.S. federal and state sexual harassment court cases involving a prior workplace romance between the plaintiff and alleged harasser. Results of our content analysis show that, unlike employees’ decisions, judges’ decisions can be predicted from legal but not ethically salient extralegal case features. Hence, when compared to prior research, our study reveals the following discrepancy: judges follow a traditional legal model, whereas employees follow an ethical model when making decisions about romance‐harassment cases. Our study also reveals that the mere presence (versus absence) of a prior romance reduces the likelihood of a plaintiff’s success in a harassment case. We discuss implications for management practice and research from the perspective of legal and ethical decision making.