Moral Issues...

[Stunseed]

Today I broke my normal life, and went to see a movie. After the movie, I went to the mall to get a new pair of work boots when lo and behold....I see a manager in my store holding hands with an employee.

At first, I'm like WTF, this bitch stole my move! < literally doing the lean and "oh I need to get my balance" ass-grab > Then it started to dawn on me....This guy is dipping his pen in company ink. It's an employee directly under him, making it seem like he is comprimising his work environment.

On the other hand.....I can't blame the man for wanting some ass. What they do off the clock I don't give a care about, I'm not a social nazi by any means. As long as he doesn't play favorites on the clock, is it really cool for this to continue?

I'm technically over this guy, but not his boss. What's the best thing I can do?

[HarmNone]

You might want to check and see if your company has a policy with regard to engaging in such behavior on company property and during working hours. I'd imagine they do. ;)

HarmNone

[Stunseed]

Oh, you definately can't do it on the clock. Therein lies the issue. If there is a comprimise of the work environment, I will see to both of their terminations. In knowing their off the clock involvement, do I only allow it to happen by not saying anything, or believe they are adults and can continue to work in a positive manner together?

[HarmNone]

Personally, I'd have a talk with your employee and let him know that what he's doing is against company policy. I'd make it clear that he is to cease any dealings, other than those that are directly work-related, with the female employee while on company time. Then, if I saw it again, he'd have a ticket home. :)

HarmNone

[Wezas]

Our office is notorious for that.

I've had my boss banging a co-worker (who worked under her)
There have been 4-5 other office romances in the last 2 or so years, but most of them haven't involved an employee/boss situation.

If there is no "boss" situation involved, then it's really that big of a deal. Even less of a deal if they don't work directly with each other.

But since it's a boss - that might be an issue. I'm not sure if you want to bring it to anyone's attention (because some may say it's not your business). But I would definately check out the company policies and maybe try to get more info on if this is a long-term relationship or just some occasional banging.

Personally I'd love to dip my pen in one co-worker's ink, but she's currently banging a different co-worker. Plus she's out of my league.

[Latrinsorm]

Originally posted by Stunseed
I'm technically over this guy, but not his boss.Did anyone else have to read that a couple times, or do I need more sleep?

[HarmNone]

Heh. Yeah, Latrinsorm. I had to read that sentence twice, as well. I thought I'd missed the gist of the whole thing! ;)

HarmNone, unconfuddled now

[Back]

Originally posted by Stunseed
On the other hand.....I can't blame the man for wanting some ass. What they do off the clock I don't give a care about, I'm not a social nazi by any means. As long as he doesn't play favorites on the clock, is it really cool for this to continue?

I'm technically over this guy, but not his boss. What's the best thing I can do?

Two choices here. Either take the high road, nip it in the bud, and tell them to knock it off for their own good, or...

Let it bite them in the ass like it does everyone.

Having been through it, and seen it first hand many times, the co-worker hook-up very rarely ends up positive. It can happen, I’ve seen that too, but much more often than not, bad mojo.

[Stunseed]

< Did anyone else have to read that a couple times, or do I need more sleep? >

We're both managers. While I'm technically over him, I do not have the right to do something. It'd be like a VP of Operations and a VP of Marketing. The Ops VP would more than likely end up running things, but they are equal as VP's.

[kheldarin]

Ohh, I thought you meant "over-him" like you don't like him anymore..
:wtf:

[Stunseed]

Naw...I'm quite the hetero male. :yes:

[Jolena]

Damn well better be! LOL

Anyhow.. I think you should just stick with what you did already when you talked to him at the mall, after they saw you and couldn't hide. After that, my best advice is to continue to watch them at work and see if it changes their behavior.

[Latrinsorm]

Originally posted by Stunseed
Naw...I'm quite the hetero male. :yes: Yeah, I was pretty sure you were... which is why I read it more than once. K.
As long as he doesn't play favorites on the clock, is it really cool for this to continue? Yes. The more relevant question to me would be: is it POSSIBLE for their relationship to not intrude on the workplace? The answer to that, I would say, is no.

[Tsa`ah]

Talk about coincidence, but my story is juicier.

One of my supervisors (that I manage) and his subordinate (married woman with kids) were caught in the weight room bumping uglies after the shift was over the other night.

I had to be the unlucky bastard to catch them to. I could have fired them both right there. Well fired her and deferred him to HR because I'm at my limit. I find it better to think things through before acting though. Had I fired them both, she could have easily filed for sexual harassment. That is the thing you need to think about. Her position being subordinate to his, things can get ugly when the relationship goes south ... and it will.

On the lighter side of things, I got surprise work place boobies! One of the line workers is a very sexy Vietnamese lady who doesn't speak English all that well and we have this running joke. Whenever she does a favor for someone she holds out her hand and demands 5 dollars. I was making my way to the back of this casement line to break the terrible news that we would be knocking off 4 hours early when I saw her trying to fetch some cut rail from a shelf about one foot out of her reach. So I ask her how many, she says 4, and I start handing them to her. I'm reaching for the fourth piece of cut stock and as I do I hold out my hand and demand 5 dollars. In the same instant I place my hand on a piece of stock, I also feel something warm and silky in the other. As I glance over I see this woman holding part of her shirt open and pressing her boob to my had.

Talk about a surprise. I had to explain I was both married and flattered at the same time. So she was very sorry and embarrassed at the same time.

I just think ... Damn, it took long enough for me to get sexually harassed!

God bless vietnamese women

[Caiylania]

Damn Tsa'ah! I bet half these guys wish they worked there now. Free sex shows and boob gropes.

:D

[Tsa`ah]

There wasn't a show. The stock isle is normally vacant with the exception of handlers and stockers. I doubt she would have pulled out the cleavage with an audience.

But ya, sexual harassment can be a good thing!

I wish there were women in my job so I could be sexually harassed

[Artha]

I wish there were women in my job so I could be sexually harassed

I'm sure you could work something out if you want to be sexually harassed.

Does my name read GERBILL, I didn't think so so stfu

[Suppa Hobbit Mage]

I'd get the subordinate moved to a different manager. Avoids the sexual harassment issue and you don't make any enemies. Personally I don't see anything wrong with dating co-workers, because lets face it... most of us work, most of us go out with co-workers as a social life, and guess what that leads too.

Unless you have an explicit policy in the workforce that says you cannot date, I think if you put your nose into it, it'll only get ugly for all 3 of you.

[Tsa`ah]

It's very hard to enforce a policy that dictate life off the clock.

My last employer had a policy concerning drinking before work. I believe it stated 6 hours before a shift. Twice they tried to terminate an employee seen in a bar an hour before her shift. Twice they got shot down in court since the employee wasn't on the clock nor was she under the influence while on the clock.

I think the same can be said about policy that dictates relationships on the job. I can see termination or action taken of PDA or being caught in the broom closet, but once those employees are off the clock the employer has no say in what happens nor can they legally take any action.

[Jazuela]

When you start making some limitations, you end up making a mess of red tape trying to determine all the other possibilities.

Some companies *encourage* nepotism, right in their employee handbooks. Recruit a cousin to work with you, and you get a bonus. Have your spouse or child work for the same company, and get your family dental insurance tossed in at no additional cost. Reason being, it saves money to the company.

Two unrelated people working two jobs cost the company "x" bucks in medical insurance on whatever they provide at no cost to the employee. Two related people working two jobs cost the company far less, because one related employee piggybacks on the other's insurance and doesn't need any of his/her own seperately.

On the other hand, related persons working in a supervisor/subordinate position within the same department can create problems. Whether perceived (hey - Boss is buying Sue Secretary lunch - and he never buys it for us! I don't care if they're married, it's not fair!).. or actual (Boss and Sue get into a fight and work production comes to a screeching halt for a week).

But, that only applies to people who are actually related. There's no way you can possibly dictate how people are allowed (or not allowed) to form relationships on the job. You can tell them to can it with the handholding while they're clocked in, but you can't tell them they're not allowed to become a couple.

They'll become one anyway, and end up violating policy to sneak around. And that's even worse than just letting them do what people do naturally and asking them to have a little discretion and maintain a professional-only relationship on the job.

The hand-holding itself, while not exactly professional behavior, I wouldn't think much of it one way or another. If they were boinking in the closet I'd probably have a few words to say about it, however.

[Suppa Hobbit Mage]

<Some companies *encourage* nepotism, right in their employee handbooks. Recruit a cousin to work with you, and you get a bonus. Have your spouse or child work for the same company, and get your family dental insurance tossed in at no additional cost. Reason being, it saves money to the company.>

What the hell? Show me a company the encourages NEPOTISM.

[Tsa`ah]

I think the choice of wording is bad. I don't think any company will support relative promoting and doling out perks to other relatives as that is nepotism.

But yes, there are companies that prefer to hire and recruit people of close relation. The problems that these companies over-look is nepotism as this is the issue they are slapped in the face with as folks work their way up the ladder. This is why I don't like to work for companies that have a family friendly HR department and part of the problem I'm trying to work around right now in the job I have.

This is also why workplace relationships are frowned upon. Not only the "sour relationship" factor, but the potential for nepotism.

[longshot]

Originally posted by Suppa Hobbit Mage
<Some companies *encourage* nepotism, right in their employee handbooks. Recruit a cousin to work with you, and you get a bonus. Have your spouse or child work for the same company, and get your family dental insurance tossed in at no additional cost. Reason being, it saves money to the company.>

What the hell? Show me a company the encourages NEPOTISM.


Hahhahaha!

You quoted Jazuela!

[Artha]

You quoted her by association!

[HarmNone]

The example used is not exactly nepotism. Nepotism is defined as bestowing patronage on the undeserving because of a kindred relationship. A company might encourage one to suggest that their relatives apply for positions; however, they probably will not hire said relatives unless they are qualified to hold the position. Most benefits packages allow discounts to all employees for family medical coverage. Allowing medical coverage at no charge for related employees is new twist, but I don't really see it as nepotism...although, it comes close. ;)

Nepotism would occur if a person was hired to work directly for someone related to him/her and promotions, pay raises, and other things that should be earned in the workplace were to be given this employee for barely average, or sub-standard, performance.

HarmNone

[Jazuela]

Ah - I'll clarify:

In the company my husband works (the Knights of Columbus Int'l Headquarters) - the company pays for his medical benefits and mine, and our kids if we had any. So they pay for one employee, plus one spouse who does -nothing- to contribute to the company, and any kids who also would -not- do anything to contribute to the company.

If I worked there also, they wouldn't have to give me free benefits - because I'd already be getting them from my spouse. Or, he could drop me from his and I'd be picked up on my own from the company. So that would be TWO employees getting free benefits, rather than one employee plus one non-contributing non-employee.

They get more for their buck by hiring the spouse.

They also encourage family members to work for the company, and will occasionally give preference to equally-qualified people if one of them has a relative working there.

They do this to promote family values, but also because it's smart business practice. The couple has more in common than if they didn't work for the same company - this gives their bond a tighter fit - less conflict - higher production. It's a freaking science how this stuff works. And the KofC happens to be damned good at it.

They're not the only company like that. The phone company where I worked was VERY well known for having entire extended families working for them. I come from a "phone company family" in fact. Dad worked there, three aunts worked there, I worked there, my sister and cousin both work there, two uncles worked there.

You wouldn't see an employee with a spouse for a boss...but it wasn't unheard of for coworkers in the same department to be related.

[Psykos]

Whats up with everyone being nancy narcs now a days?


Originally posted by Stunseed
Today I broke my normal life, and went to see a movie. After the movie, I went to the mall to get a new pair of work boots when lo and behold....I see a manager in my store holding hands with an employee.

At first, I'm like WTF, this bitch stole my move! < literally doing the lean and "oh I need to get my balance" ass-grab > Then it started to dawn on me....This guy is dipping his pen in company ink. It's an employee directly under him, making it seem like he is comprimising his work environment.

On the other hand.....I can't blame the man for wanting some ass. What they do off the clock I don't give a care about, I'm not a social nazi by any means. As long as he doesn't play favorites on the clock, is it really cool for this to continue?

I'm technically over this guy, but not his boss. What's the best thing I can do?

[Stunseed]

What a coincidence....I deal with you and your MA'ing crew last night, and all of a sudden you're making comments.

You see, Psykos, I work in the real world, where issues like these are definately trouble. The last thing I want to deal with is knowledge of the fact and there be an investigation of the business.

How's Harvard, by the way?