Managing human resource romance at work: towards a “considerate” approach

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider various managerial approaches hitherto adopted to address “workplace romance” and to determine a realistic and constructive approach to explain and manage this least known organisational phenomenon. Design/methodology/approach – Consideration of the “taboo” nature of the subject and related ethical issues led to the development of three case studies, based on the qualitative data collected for analysis. The evaluation of the above cases led to the emergence of the third approach, namely, “considerate” which reflects the merits of strategic management of human resource management in the context of business strategy of the organisations. Findings – It is concluded that the “considerate” is the most appropriate approach to manage workplace romance because it is perceived by employees as fair and well‐justified. It accounts for potential risks and rewards, thus recognising the need for a realistic policy which takes into account the organisation, its environment and its strategic business objective. Research limitations/implications – Whilst reliability of the present study is based on the analysis of multiple real‐life case studies, future studies ought to adopt “realism” as a means to bridge perception and business context in which these acts are considered. Practical implications – The adoption of the proposed “considerate” approach may help HR practitioners to develop a strategy for managing workplace romance that is the most suitable for their organisation and its business strategy. Originality/value – This first‐time study explores managing workplace romance in the context of strategic HR. Moreover, the developed conceptual framework enables practitioners to manage romance at work.