Canadian HR Reporter Weekly

2 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2018 CANADIAN HR REPORTER WEEKLY It could be a subdued Valentine's Day at the office this year. e explosion of workplace sexual harassment claims in recent months has thrust workplace relationships into the spotlight, spurring caution in terms of male-female interactions, according to experts. And while cookie-grams and candy-grams will still be swapped between colleagues on Feb. 14, flirtatious messages should not be included, said Stuart Rudner, employment lawyer at Rudner Law in Toronto. "It can be a great boost to employee morale, but I'm sure we've all seen it where a manager sends a cookie- gram to a subordinate with a heart on the card, and they don't know how to take that," he said. "You've got to keep it professional. If you're going to send a cookie, card, whatever, keep it professional. Don't put yourself in a position where your conduct can either be misconstrued, or where allegations can be made against you and you have no way to defend yourself." Major headlines and the #MeToo social media movement have brought the issue of sexual harassment to the forefront, said Marc Ramsbottom, vice-president of Peninsula, an HR consulting firm in Toronto. "It's always right that people should think about their professional relationships at work," he said. "People shouldn't just make assumptions and have a laissez- faire and casual attitude towards that. It's incumbent on everybody to take responsibility for their own behaviour and actions — how they conduct themselves in the workplace." "If it makes some people sit up and think more carefully: 'Was that interaction inappropriate? Should I have behaved in that way?'… then I think that's a good thing." Managing relationships When it comes to romantic relationships between col- leagues, HR has typically been slow to step in, said Jen- nifer Corbett, associate at Samfiru Tumarkin in Toronto. "It's very personal and it can be awkward," she said, noting companywide no-dating policies remain "unrealistic, archaic and very rare." But both the #MeToo movement and legislative updates are forcing employers to be more proactive, said Corbett. "I think there will be a growing trend of having policies that directly address a ban on subordinate-superior relationships, or where any conflict of interest could arise," she said. "Overall, it's probably not a good idea, from a manager's perspective, to engage in any sort of relations or appearance of this sort of flirtation… because of the fallout it could bring to the company." It is incumbent for employers to think about potential conflicts of interest, said Ramsbottom. "Personal relationships in the workplace are a very tricky area to manage," he said. "If you're a manager dating somebody in your department or the workplace, then it's quite sensible to think, 'OK, how might this impact on our professional relationship, not just in terms of the two individuals, but how might it look to the other people in the workplace?'" Workplace culture needs to be carefully construed to promote respect and equality among colleagues, said Lew Bayer, a civility expert in Winnipeg. When developed properly, trust is established naturally. Safe social environments, such as an employee lunchroom, are also created where innocuous comments are not perceived as sexist, she said. Yet regardless of a solid workplace culture, managerial feedback on personal issues is out of line, said Bayer. "What does how someone's pants fit, or how much weight they've lost, have to do with their competency?" she said. "How is it relevant to the workplace? If it doesn't relate to the job at hand or competency, why is it crossing our minds, regardless of who we're talking to?" "Everyone in every situation should get exactly the same respect and consideration," said Bayer. "If we could teach that attitude, we'd have significantly less bullying and harassment and miscommunication in general." "Fearfulness and inequality in many shapes and forms Memo to managers: Keep it professional When it comes to workplace relationships in today's environment, caution and transparency are advised routes, say experts Credit: Gearstd (Shutterstock) BY MARCEL VANDER WIER

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