Experts debate office romance

Some experts say secretive office romances can set the wrong ethical tone.

THE OKLAHOMAN

Secret office romances, especially the cheatin’ kind, can be the kiss of death to careers, as married American Red Cross president Mark Everson found out Nov. 27 after the board forced his resignation for an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate.

Some observers say it’s nobody’s business what goes on inside and outside an executive’s marriage. But most believe it does matter, that such indiscretions water down the entire company’s code of conduct.

“If it’s OK for the leader to cheat a little under certain circumstances, and not be upfront and honest, employees will believe it’s OK to bend the rules in other areas with ethical lapses that can affect the bottom line,” said Lyn Turknett, an organizational sociologist in Atlanta who works as an ethical leadership coach with her husband, a psychologist.

The biggest issue with Everson’s, and other forbidden affairs, is the deception that occurs, said Bob Turknett. “All trust and confidence in them is lost. They’re so wrapped up in their own self-importance that they don’t consider the effect cheating has on the company or their families.”

According to a survey conducted by Men’s Health magazine, 44 percent of men have had an affair with a co-worker. Many start at Christmas parties.

Such shenanigans shouldn’t matter, said Penelope Trunk, author of “Brazen Careerist: The New Rules for Success.”

“It’s a slippery slope firing people for moral behavior,” Trunk said. “What about the CEOs who go for drinks after work? AA would consider them alcoholics. ... Or the CEOs who work 100 hours a week and miss their kids’ school plays. Boards love them.”

Nathan Whatley, a labor and employment attorney with McAfee and Taft in Oklahoma City, recommends employers discourage workplace relationships and prohibit them between managers and subordinates. Relationships involving the latter put the company at financial risk, he said. Subordinates, he said, may allege they were intimidated or coerced into affairs, and such allegations are difficult to disprove and may cost hundreds of thousands to defend.

Meanwhile, the character and ethics of chief executives and supervisors are linked to bottom-line performance, research shows. In one study of managers of Holiday Inns, research showed increased customer service, revenue and profits among trusted managers.

And in an experiment conducted by Harvey Hegarty and Henry Sims at Indiana University, subjects given a letter that supported ethical behavior made ethical decisions at a much higher frequency than their counterparts, who were given a second letter that placed emphasis on immediate profitability at the cost of upholding ethical standards.

Linda K. Trevino, an authority on ethics and leadership at Penn State University, advises conducting an ethical culture audit before joining any firm, and offers several questions to ask. Among them are: How are organizational leaders perceived in terms of their integrity? Are workers at all levels encouraged to take responsibility for the consequences of their behavior or to question authority when they are asked to do something that they consider to be wrong? Are ethics reinforced in other formal systems such as reward and decision-making systems?

“Just as every decision is considered in light of financial implications, every decision must be considered in light of ethical considerations,” Lyn Turknett said. “You may be committed to getting a product to a customer in time for their busy season, but you also are committed to quality and thorough testing. How do you balance both?”

Though Everson, former Internal Revenue Service commissioner, likely endured extensive hiring scrutiny before he was hired just six months ago, the Turknetts recommend pre-hiring personality tests. Among other things, such testing can uncover narcissism that follows a pattern of low conscientiousness and lack of emotional control that implies lack of respect for other people.

“The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior,” Bob Turknett said.