Does it HAVE to be THAT bad??

Traditionally, organizations have frowned upon in-house romantic relationships and marriages. Some, like Max New York Life Insurance, do not even allow two members of the same family to work together, claiming that if one is in a senior position and the other somewhat junior, it could affect promotions and progress of the latter. Also, this could affect the professionalism and the inter-department secrecy that some organizations stress a lot upon.

Take the case of Pritam and Jagruti for instance. Intermediaries Technologies Ltd seems to so obviously frown upon whatever it is that is between them. It seems to me like they are merely interested in each other. Whether they have moved so far as to openly acknowledge a romantic relationship between the two of them remains another question. Either way, the GM seems either totally convinced that this is going to hamper their professional relationship or he is just trying to find a newer and better way to exploit employees. I am inclined to think the latter seems a more plausible explanation. But does it have to be so bad?

In-house romantic relationships do not necessarily have to hamper professional relationships. Leave alone hampering the relationship, these days there are plenty of IT firms which seem to encourage in-house romantic relationships. According to Shoba Murthy, Head of Corporate Communication, TCS, "There is so much more mutual support and understanding when a couple is working in the same organisation and understands the other's deadline and delivery pressures". Also, there is a greater probability of the couple staying in the company. Also, I feel that when couples work together, they get to spend more time together (in today's high pressure environment where a couple, either romantically involved or married don't get time to speak for days). This increases employee satisfaction and the employer might be likely to get better quality work in the end. Looks like there could be a positive side to this, doesn't it?

Companies like CSC are actually encouraging their employees to settle down with each other. The HR department of CSC is looking to send out a message that CSC is one big happy family! Also, companies like Wipro and TCS are posting matrimonial ads within their organization, for employees and friends of employees. This only promotes a greater sense of trust between the employer and employee.

Of course, there is a down side to this too. Couples working together might tend to bring household squabbles to the work place. We cannot rule this out, But we have to say something here about the sense of professionalism an organization instills in its employees, This should actually give a healthy and improved work environment for all.

In the end, as long as the performance f the employees concerned does not go down, I do not see why an organization has to poke its nose into such affairs. It could be happily-ever-after for all concerned, after all!!