Pritam Singh received a call from the GM HR of Intermediaries Technologies Ltd for an urgent meeting with him in his chamber. While he was rushing to the office of GM (HR), he squeezed his brain to get the reason for this meeting. Am I going to be fired? Or is it that the long standing promotion is to be announced leading to an onsite opportunity? Unable to decide, he knocked the door of GM(HR) looking through glass pane.
He noticed that somebody was sitting facing the GM(HR). It did not take much time for him to figure out that it was Jagruti. Before he could knock the door, the GM said, “Come in, Pritam… We are waiting for you…” He did not know as how to start the conversation. He mumbled, “Sir, you wanted to meet me, I suppose…”
“Yes Pritam, take your seat. In fact, I wanted to meet both of you. That’s why I called you”
Pritam took the corner seat so as to avoid sitting in the middle seat next to Jagruti. He was unable to decode the purpose of the meeting and looked at Jagruti for answers. But Jagruti was indifferent to his visit and looking at the portrait hanging on the wall.
GM HR looked into his eyes and asked, “Pritam, how long you have been with Intermediaries Technologies?”
“Six years Sir…”
“I hope you are aware that your name is being considered for Senior Manager HR for our Detroit Office?”
“Yes Sir, I heard from my boss…”
“You really want to be promoted?”
Pritam did not know as how to answer.
“Why Sir? Is there any problem?”
GM(HR) did not answer his question but went ahead and said, “if you really want to be promoted, you will have to sign this agreement. Jagruti has already signed it.”
Pritam was bewildered after hearing this statement. He was speechless. As a HR Manager, Pritam had administered many contracts for various employees and got their signature. But he never came across a situation, where two employees were asked to sign on the same agreement.
Pritam asked meekly, “What is this agreement Sir?”
GM(HR) said, “I prefer that you sign the agreement first and read it at your leisure. It’s self explanatory. Or later you can get to know from Jagruti.”
Pritam said, “But Sir, I want to know first as what is there in the agreement before signing it.”
Jagruti was looking into his eyes and sensing from her facial cues, Pritam felt as if she was signaling him to sign the agreement. He could not understand as what was going on.
He said, “Sir, Sorry for questioning you. But I really don’t know what is happening. I feel like you are up for a mind game. If could explain me as what the problem is, we could discuss and resolve. I really don’t know as how my promotion and signing this agreement are related.”
GM (HR) looked at him with a fire in his eyes and said, “So, you don’t want to sign the agreement. Well. Then, we have only one choice left with us.”
Pritam asked, “What is it, Sir?”
“One of you have to resign from Intermediaries Technologies. I prefer Jagruti puts down her paper before Six O’ Clock.”
When he said this, Pritam could see that tears welling up in her eyes and rolled down on the cheeks of Jagruti. He could now understand as why Jagruti was all along silent and could somehow guess the reason for the meeting.
Pritam as a part of HR team has always enjoyed the fun of recruiting people especially the young college graduates. The recruitment team members, including male and female colleagues, always used to comment looking at the photographs of prospective recruits and derive immense happiness about discussing the characteristics of the candidates turned up for interviews.
Two years back, Pritam recruited Jagruti as a senior software engineer and the day he interviewed her along with his colleagues, he felt a kind of rare intimacy with her which he never felt with anybody during his career spanning almost 8 years in field of HR in his previous organization and also here in Intermediaries Technologies. He felt that there was something special with her.
The subsequent interaction with her while facilitating her placement within the organization as a HR manager and during various other occasions, Pritam found that both of them tried to engage in “sweet nothings” sort of conversations. They slowly started exchanging sms, talked over mobile for long hours, bought expensive gifts for birthdays, and hugged each other during office parties shedding inhibitions.
Now sitting in the office of GM(HR), Pritam realized that this meeting was about their personal relationship and could not understand as why the GM(HR) should poke his nose into their affair. Moreover, he wanted to know as what was written in the agreement and why did Jagruti sign the agreement without consulting him.
In an act of jiffy, he picked up the agreement and started glancing through the page. The GM(HR) raised his voice to protest his move, “Pritam, do you know what you are doing?”
Pritam replied, “Wait a minute, Sir. I am not doing any crime. I am just reading to decide whether to sign it or not” and continued to read the agreement. It read,
Dating and Relationship Agreement
We i.e., Pritam Singh (HR Manager) and Jagruti Patel (Senior Software Engineer) employees of Intermediaries Technologies Ltd., hereby acknowledge that we have entered into a romantic relationship.
We understand that Intermediaries Technologies Ltd is an equal opportunity employer committed to a discrimination and / or harassment free workplace. By signing this “Dating and Relationship Agreement” we declare openly and explicitly that ours is a voluntary relationship of mutual consensus and we both of us guarantee that our relationship would not in any slightest possible way affect our performance in our jobs directly or indirectly and promise to avoid any romantic and / or sexual behavior within the organization.
We also assure the management that in no way our reporting relationship would be influenced by personal romantic relationship and we would always strive hard to promote the efficiency and effectiveness of business operations of Intermediaries Technologies Ltd avoiding any possible misunderstanding, moral, ethical, and social problems such as favoritism, nepotism, corruption, sexual harassment etc.,
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.
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Signaure: ________________________ (Pritam Sing, HR Manager)
Signature: ________________________ (Jagruti Patel, Senior Software Engineer)
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If Pritam does not sign the contract Jagruti will be fired from the company. But it is interesting to analyse what will happen if Pritam signs the contract. Is this Love contract an alternative to sexual harassment policies of the company? Definitely Intermediary Technologies Ltd is in advantage. Because in case of any sexual harassment one of the party cannot move to the court or will think twice before adopting the law route because of this Love Contract. So the image of the company will not be tarnished. One more advantage will be that Pritam cannot do any favouritism towards Jagruti. But I doubt if in case of any sexual harassment if a party decides to go to the court, will the court turn down the request because of this love contract. Moreover the party can claim that they signed the agreement under pressure from the employer at a sensitive time. One more interesting case would have been if Pritam or Jagruti anyone would have been married or may be both married (Not to each other), will in this case Intermediate technologies would have forced them to sign the contract. And in case of India where same sex is yet to be legalized what route the company would have taken if in case Jagruti was a boy? Would Pritam and Jagruti (both males) would have been asked to sign the contract and to what extent Indian law would have recognized the contract.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion love contract is not an apt solution to the problem, rather a strong anti harassing policy combined with an effective reporting and investigation policy will solve the cause. The employees should be trained regularly in this matter. Even if someone dates his/her subordinate proper rules must be made that they are not in a same project or anyway related project. If we look at Infosys this policy has been there since their inception and no one can forget even a board of director was fired under harassment of a female employee. So a love contract may give headaches to the HR but the above mentioned policies and their proper implementation can solve the problem to a greater extent.
Companies have always shown a tendency to exercise control over the behavior of the employees to the maximum extent possible. This control gets restricted to the professional scope mostly but in certain cases the line between the personal and professional restrictions gets blurred.
ReplyDeleteThis is what can be seen in the case of "love contract". The company is trying to control the professional behavior of the managers and is interfering into their personal life as well. GM (HR) expects Pritam Singh to blindly sign the contract immediately, without reading through it. The way the contract signing is being executed, it would lead to:
- Pressure:
There is an attempt to increase the pressure on them, without providing enough time to think. Also the simple fact that Pritam is being asked to sign the contract just before he’s expecting his promotion is increasing the emotional pressure on him to sign it. Since people are most vulnerable just before a promotion and are likely to do things asked with second thoughts.
- Control:
To show them who is in control. This is being done by dictating the behavior expected from them in office and telling one of them to resign in case either of them doesn’t sign. It’s a “do or go” situation with hardly any option left before Pritam and Jagruti.
- Unexpected Clauses:
The clauses in the contract are beyond the normal expected and acceptable levels, since reading through the document isn’t allowed. So somewhere even GM (HR) is sure if Pritam goes through the contract before signing it might lead to complications. So he tried his best not to let him read it.
Moreover this case also shows another aspect of control experienced over managers; that is managers however senior or well performing they may be cannot evade from the contracts and controlling part of professional life. Being a HR manager, Pritam himself had administered various kinds of contracts for employees, but in this case he is the one being targeted; so everyone can be made a target of contracts and restrictive clauses be it post the job or dictating terms while he’s in job.