News Scrapbook 1985

Los Angeles, CA (Los Angeles co, Times (San Diego Ed.I (Cir. D 50,010, (Cir. S 55,573,

-

985

Jlllai', P. c e

En t 88B

Ideas The Office Romance- It Can Titillate, Topple a Firm ~r $ ---~-...--=--,----."""""~= magazine of the American Man- B.;, MIK GRA BERRY, agement Assn., the authors con- Tim taff Writer ii~~iii eluded that organizations are natu-

ral breeding grounds for romantic involvements. Structured settings put people in "close proXJmity and create the interact10n necessary for establishing intimate relation- ships," they wrote. "With people committed to working together, there is a desire to like the other person, if only because a pleasant work environ- ment is more rewarding than an unpleasant one." Unfortunately, the line between friendship and romance in such settings is often lipstick thin, Hun- saker said. However, not all office liaisons are counterproductive-to those involved or to the company. Despite consequences, office ro- mances are as natural as benign flirtation, the authors found. "When people feel anxious, afraid, lonely or unsure of themselves," they wrote, "the mere presence of another can be rewarding, because camaraderie mitigates negative feelings." Sixty-two percent of organiza- tional romances were found to involve a man "in a higher posi- t10n." In only 30% of the cases were the man and woman at the same Job level. In 68% of the romances, participants worked in the same vicinity; in 94% of the cases, they shared an office or adJoining suites. In cases where the man held the higher position, 44% shared an office or adjoining work spaces. Eighty-six percent of those in- terviewed admitted to being ex- pos1>d to more than one office romance. Threatenlnr Chanres In the 1980s, with new morality and the sexual revolution in full flower, why are such liaisons threatening? "Anytime you change the status quo," Hunsaker said, "it's threat- ening. And anytime a married person gets involved, it's very threatening." Society is still coping with the women's movement, Anderson said. The role of women leaves a lot of people shaking their heads, not the least of whom are women themselves. Anderson thinks fall- out from office r mance is trou- bling to female ecutives, who, Please see A FAIR, Pare 16

an "In the old days, if a woman was involved with the boss and something went wrong, she was fired. How hard was it to fire a secretary? Nowadays, a woman is more likely a vice president or department head. And it's never easy to get rid of the problem."

Problerr.

viewed. since Hunsaker and An- derson were sure that they would never gel honest answers from principals, particularly those m ex;tramarital affairs. Much of what they found was . fascinating, even startling. The most unusual fmding was that the reality of an office romance didn't matter-it was the illusion that one was happening that '1t up a compa- ny hke a small-town .switchboard. Appearances were even more threatening, especially with a boss involved. In an article published in the

years ago, a masters class in busi- ness admm1strauon would net one or two women, Hunsaker said. Now MBA classes are filled with equal numbers of men and women. The Hunsaker-Anderson ques- t1onna1re focu ed on the role that proX1m1ty plays in an office where men and women interact constant- ly. Their third-party sampling polled 175 white-collar employees a e f c r pames m Southern Cahforma. Each was asked to elab- orate on the office romance he or she had most closely observed. On,y • ob, ervers" were inter-

Hun aker nd And rson wor c than they feared • You could see 1t was hav1'1g a tremendous impact on the c mpa- ny,' Hunsaker sad. "F1vE years ago no one w uld have add essed these problems. In the o d da s, 1f a woman wa nvolved with th boss and someth ng WC'l wrong she was fU'ed H w hard as t t fire a mar I ke1y a vice pres1d nt or department head And it's never easy to get rid of the prob em." In "th o d days.'' ay, 5 to 10 y it's

Continued from Page 1 hoping to advance, are more close- ly scrutinized than male col- leagues. "Casting couch seXJsm" is, he said, a pervasive trend And m terms of who suffers most m such p m'lgs, It's the woman every time In the case of the Orange County m urancc company, Hunsaker v.as a ked for a recommendation. His dv1ce was to keep the ex-mistress, highly compet£>nt go-getting ex- ccutive and fire the former flight attendant, who was getting in the way wh1Je offending almost every- one. The company president, an- gered by a recommendation he had o 1r1ted, did the opposite. The decision was hardly wel- comed, Hunsaker said, and now the company 1s in a shambles. Famous Bendix Cue H tory offer a precedent in uch matters. Hun.saker mentioned the case of Mary C'unnmgham and Bill Agee at BendJX Corporation sev£>ral years ago-a case that drew national attenuon. Agee denied that Cunningham's rapid rise had anything to do with "a personal relationship that we have." Suspicions about the two grew w1thm the company, espe- cially so after national television cameras focused in on the pair s1ttmg with former President Ger- ald Ford at the Republican N'at1on- al Conventton. Cunningham later resigned, say- ing all along that talk of the romance was mahc1ous and untrue.

Agee described her as "a friend of the family" In June of 1982, Cun- mngham and Agee were married. Agee resigned from Bendix a year later. He and Cunningham now run Semper Enterprises, a venture capital and straW!gy consulting firm. In the Hunsaker-Anderson sur- vey, 65% of those responding said they had seen a couple together away from work and that such "sightings" often fueled talk of office romance. Other tip-offs were couples spending a Jot of work time chatting, while 35% said "long lunches together" offered the best evidence for them fhat maybe a third-rate romance, ow-rent ren- dezvous was taking place. Sixty-one percent of those re- sponding say office romancers were easier to get along with- they welcomed such a love-in. But 35% said females dealing with males in higher positions were shown onerous favoril!sm. Anderson said office romances tended to fit into three categories, • Love. Those thought to be truly m love, regardless of rank, were less likely to offend. and generally drew sympathy. Theda- ta indicated that "true love" fre- quently involved two unmarried people and often ended in marriage. • Ego. Such adventurers were thought to be motivated more by excitement, satisfaction, sexual philandering, even danger. In these, Anderson said responses ranged from the "very negative to neutral."

• Power. Easily the most threat- ening. Those thought to be moti- vated by power and prestige were more likely to be manipulative and ev!lly unethical in the mmds of co-workers. They were thought to be the kind of .conniving misfits that American television glorifies in the "Dallas" character J.R. Ew- ing. Any linkup between woman and boss was considered terribly inappropriate. Seventy-nine percent reported office romances having a negative impact on organizations. Twen- ty-one percent reported positive effects. Other negatives included: hos- tiltties in the workplace; distorted communication: lowered output and production, with a scurrilous increase in office gossip; slower decision-making, and negative re- actions by clients. The City of San Diego is sensitive to such data and has taken steps- short of official mandate-to han- dle a problem it views as potential- ly problematic. Trudy Sopp manages the city's organizational effectiveness pro- gram. Three years ago her depart- ment started a program for 1,600 city supervisors. Its title, "'Sex and Power, Workplace Issues." For those who may be wonder- ing, it was not related to the publicized allegations of a romance between former City Manager Ray Blair and assistant Sue Williams. Both denied there was any in- volvement. It wasn't related to any one incident, Sopp said, Just more to

the need for examining "a lot of broad issues." It dealt with such issues as attractiveness, sexual harassment, seduction, transference and hazing. Sopp said harassment was the springboard for the program, with cities in the 1980s virtually being forced to examine that part of the issue. .Pn the subject of office romance, Sopp said that among 7,000 em- ployees, the city had not encoun- tered "a problem, per se." "But as more women move into the work force, mto higher posi- tions, it w!ll be a problem," she said. "And women will often be victims. Distracts From Decisions "We see it as a productivity issue, not a morahty issue. Certain- ly, it is a morale issue, which is our concern. We're domg all we can to keep morale up." Sopp said office romance almost always creates no-win situations. She pointed out that 1f John is sleeping with Sara and the two agree in a staff meeting, everyone whispers. " 'Oh, well, he's sleeping with her.' " But if they disagree, everyone says, " 'Oh, they're Just having a fight.' When they break up, it's really awful." The solul!on? Policies and guide- lines, Hunsaker said. In an age when companies are devoting time, energy and money to drug and alcohol programs, he finds it odd that another, potentially more vex- ing, problem 1s being ignored.

"First," the authors wrote, "management needs to determine its position, Can the organizational climate tolerate intraoffice rela- l!onships? If not, a policy against them should be set up and enforced throughout the organization. "Employees who break company policy should be warned that both participants will be asked to leave unless the relationship is terminat- ed. Fair and consistent enforce- ment will give such a policy credi- b1ltty, will not adverseiy affect morale and will decrease the mc1- dence of gossip and grumbling about 'special treatment · " A second course of action labeled "non-interference" was deemed "the more realistic and sensible choice" given the prevalence of romance at work and the effect of taboos on human behavior. "Non-interference" contains a ca- veat, however. If two lovers end up disrupting the workplace-if the affair can't go on "quietly"-they run the risk of being reprimanded, even fired. "Non-interference" is champi- oned by civil libertarians and oth- ers fearing mcreasing encroach- ment on privacy and individual rights. Their opponents, citing con- temporary sport, say it may be an athlete's choice to consume drugs m the privacy of home, but in the long run, it can hurt the team. Office romance, Hunsaker and Anderson say. 1s having a dcvas- Lating impact on The Team-any team in American business.

•