Acknowledgement Vs Dictat

Taking cue from the example of Oracle (posted by Harsh Chopra), it is quite evident that the employers must have some insurance when it comes to allegations like this. As it is very difficult to ascertain that the people in question were previously in a consenting relationship which later turned into a sour one or actually the claim to harassment is correct. Thus a contract will be the bail out for the company in case of a false claim.

After working for six years in the company Pritam was asked to sign the “The Dating and Relationship contract”. A question should come up in our minds. Why did the company not make him sign such a contract when he joined? The primary reason was that once the company was aware of his romantic relationship with Jagruti , the contract was drafted. This contract was a preemptive measure taken by the company in case the relationship goes sour and one of them makes false claims just to get back at the other. The organization is in no way responsible for the romantic relationship between two individuals working for it. So the acknowledgment of the fact that two individuals are romantically involved is the insurance plan for the organization. If both the involved parties sign the contract there is no possibility of sexual harassment. This also answers the last question posted by Abhijoy- “Why the organization is interested in them acknowledging the fact?”

Now comes the part that is objectionable-“In case, the management of Intermediaries Technologies Ltd concludes that we fail to adhere to the company code of conduct for employees due to this personal romantic relationship, we understand that it is appropriate and legitimate for the management of Intermediaries Technologies Ltd to take disciplinary action against both of us and discharge either of us or both of us from the services of Intermediaries Technologies Ltd”

This is the part when the employer has taken the power in his hands. If the employer feels that the romantic relation is not good for the organization it can terminate the employees at will. Even if the employees are doing their jobs, the employer has the right to terminate one or both of them on the grounds of inefficiency or not following the code of conduct.

So now the question is- Is a romantic relationship bad for an organization?

I would like to start the answer to this by an example give by Professor S.S. Ganesh in class. There was a student in the first year who did not do well in his subject and could not secure passing marks. The same student takes Professor’s elective in the second year and does exceeding well. The reason- His girlfriend was in the same class. Such is the power of love.

This example reiterates the fact that romantic relationships can be good for an individual and organisation in terms of the efficiency, results and sincerity of the individual. So many of us have already written about it and also given examples of various organizations promoting such relationships.

I agree that there are concerns of favoritism, nepotism, corruption etc but these concerns can be dealt with through a lot of different approach. Employing the individuals in question in two independent branches or business units can be one of the many approaches to deal with such concern.

I agree with the idea of a contract only to the point where the parties sign on a paper and acknowledge that they are involved in a romantic relationship so that it acts as an insurance to the employer. But not with the idea of dictating the behavior of two individuals who are in love, not with the idea of forcing them to sign on a contract which gives the organization a right to fire them at will. The idea behind a love contract should be that of acknowledgment not of finding new ways to termination of employment.