Workplace Romance in the Hospitality Industry Research Paper

Workplace Romance in the Hospitality Industry - Research Paper Example As a result of this constant sharing of working space there remains a high chance of the workers in the hospitality industry getting romantically involved with each other. Every worker spends a considerable amount of the day in his or her office. Above that the workers in the hospitality industry work under stressful conditions like round the day duties and living up to the demands of people of different kinds. As a result seeking supports from co-workers and consequent blooming of romance between them is prevalent trend in this industry. In any office environment the co-workers share a lot of feeling like experiences, interests, fears, setbacks and achievements with each other. Therefore it can be seen that the factors responsible for giving birth to romance are always present in the working environment. The constant sharing of emotions may lead to the development of emotional and romantic leanings on each other. The usual office romance varies from casual flings and affairs to the more serious relationships. In the hospitality industry there are also many instances of sexual harassment between co-workers and the scholars have distinguished the workplace romance from sexual advances. Workplaces romances in have been defined as relationship based on mutual desire and physical attraction between the workers of the same organization. It is also necessary that the people have found each other through the course of their work and the relationship is consensual. For romance between workers separated by hierarchy it is important that the romance spreads beyond the traditional employer employee relationship. Workers from all age group have been found to be associated with workplace romance. However the highest probability of romance between colleagues lies in the age group from 35 to 44. In a survey almost 44% of the interviewee in this age group has admitted to date their co-workers (Pearce, 2010). Some very important points of discussion about workplace romance have been the causes for the development of the romance, the effect of office romance on the peers and environment of the office as well as on the people involved directly and the managerial decision or attitude towards accepting the romance (Odgers, 2004, pp 221-222; Burke, Mattis, 2005 p 153; Sias, 2009, p 140). It will be relevant to mention that many of the organizations have a defined policy on workplace romance though no such references could be found directly for the hospitality industry. It has often been debated whether workplace romance leads to better performance of the employees and also the effect of romance on the other co-workers Reasons and the Consequences of Office Romance According to Fiona M. Wilson (2007) the study of romance in office as a sociological subject started 30 years ago. Such studies were of immense interest for the management who wanted to know the consequence on the organization as a result of romances between the workers. According to Peter Corser (20 11), a person spends a third of their day in their office. Under such a situation the author finds it natural for romance to brew between the co-workers. Moreover it can also be mentioned here that for people working in a team the skills, experiences and the knowledge are very similar. Therefore there is a high chance of people sharing common interests and therefore finding each other attractive. However he has also noted that many organizations have discouraging policies for such romances. The organization has