Office Romance
It is not morally acceptable for employers to make generalized rules against dating in the workplace. Such rules violate the employee’s personal rights and may act against a company’s best interests. There are morally and legally acceptable exceptions, however, when specific romantic relationships, such as those between supervisors and subordinates, are likely to create a financial and legal liability for a company, and hamper the company from conducting business. In these cases, it would be morally irresponsible not to have a specific policy forbidding the romantic relationships in question.
The Privacy Spectrum
The right to privacy can be seen as a spectrum with each end of the spectrum representing positions with which very few reasonable people would find fault. On one end are statements such as one expects privacy when showering at one’s own home. On the opposite end are statements such as one should not expect to remain unobserved when sitting in a sports stadium in full view of 35,000 people and several television camera crews. However, most privacy questions fall somewhere within this spectrum. Is it a violation of privacy to open someone else’s present that was accidentally left on your doorstep? (McArther 2001) Reasonable arguments could be made both for and against this scenario creating an invasion of privacy.
Privacy Common Sense
A typical company cannot morally or legally forbid someone from joining a local community organization, such as the Lyon’s Club. If an employee is participating in the Lyon’s club, it is likely being done on personal time and has no direct effect on the workplace. If this person casually mentions to their co-workers that they are a member of the Lyon’s Club and invites them to come to a meeting, it is unlikely this would be an issue for anyone involved. If, however, the employee repeatedly asks co-workers to join the club, left literature on their desks, or acted in some other persistent and intrusive manner, the company
The Privacy Spectrum
The right to privacy can be seen as a spectrum with each end of the spectrum representing positions with which very few reasonable people would find fault. On one end are statements such as one expects privacy when showering at one’s own home. On the opposite end are statements such as one should not expect to remain unobserved when sitting in a sports stadium in full view of 35,000 people and several television camera crews. However, most privacy questions fall somewhere within this spectrum. Is it a violation of privacy to open someone else’s present that was accidentally left on your doorstep? (McArther 2001) Reasonable arguments could be made both for and against this scenario creating an invasion of privacy.
Privacy Common Sense
A typical company cannot morally or legally forbid someone from joining a local community organization, such as the Lyon’s Club. If an employee is participating in the Lyon’s club, it is likely being done on personal time and has no direct effect on the workplace. If this person casually mentions to their co-workers that they are a member of the Lyon’s Club and invites them to come to a meeting, it is unlikely this would be an issue for anyone involved. If, however, the employee repeatedly asks co-workers to join the club, left literature on their desks, or acted in some other persistent and intrusive manner, the company
References: DeBare, Ilana. “The Fallout from Newsom’s Affair / Bad Idea: More Companies Enact Policies to Discourage Office Affairs.” San Francisco Chronicle. Feb 2, 2007. Dreyfack, Raymond. “In Office Dating, First Determine if There’s a Conflict.” Plant Engineering. Jul 2005. Vol. 59, Iss. 7. Hanley, Terri R., Esq. E-mail Interview. 11 Mar 2007. McArther, Robert L. “Reasonable Expectations of Privacy.” Ethics and Information Technology. 2001. Vol. 3, Iss. 2. Navarro, Mireya. “Love the Job? What About Your Boss?” New York Times. Jul 24, 2005. Wilson, Rebecca J., et al. “Romantic Relationships at Work: Does Privacy Trump the Dating Police?” Defense Counsel Journal. Jan 2003. Vol. 70, Iss 1 Tuohey, Jason. “Office Romances Fraught with Complications; Maturity in the Workplace a Key to their Success.” Boston Globe. Oct 15, 2006.