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Is sex at work the kiss of death for your career?

Psychologists are seeking answers to the thorny questions surrounding relationships in the workplace, such as do employers have the right to know about intimate relationships between their staff, and whether sexual and romantic relationship at work really are the kiss of death for your career.

The issue of relationships in the workplace is the focus of ground-breaking research currently being undertaken by occupational psychologist Dr Lisa Matthewman at the University of Westminster. She discussed her work on Thursday 7 September 2006, at the British Psychological Society’s Social Psychology Section Annual Conference held at the Jury’s Inn Hotel, Birmingham.

Whatever the motives for engaging in sexual and romantic relationships - whether it be for a quick lustful sexual fling or longer term love and intimacy - the vast majority of workers are very unlikely to tell managers or the HR department about their relationship, or a colleague’s relationship until it leads to negative outcomes.

These negative outcomes can include jealousy and gossip, an abuse of power, poor team dynamics, reductions in productivity or breaches of confidentiality. In today’s workplace, employers need to ensure that they have a clear policy to guard against the potential impact of sexual and romantic relationships at work and to ward off sexual harassment claims. But just how far employers should go to prevent claims of favouritism, sexual harassment, injury to feelings, damage to reputations and in some cases forced career changes or dismissal, is the question.

Dr Matthewman said "The research discusses the question of ‘conflict of interests’ at work with the aim of developing a framework to assist employers manage these issues and respond effectively. To do this we are looking at how romantic and sexual relationships form, how they evolve and what the consequences are of them for individuals, colleagues and the organisation. This is a new area of research, so our findings are likely to be of great interest to businesses and individuals alike, who are trying to weave a path through the delicate maze of personal feelings and corporate responsibility".

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