Consensual Relationship Agreements Case Study

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Consensual Relationship Agreements Case Study Question 1 Argue for the use of Consensual Relationship Agreements (CRAs) in your current (or future) workplace. Answer Dating and romance in the workplace is an interesting topic that will cause quite a discussion among many professionals and their coworkers. In the book titled Office Mate: The Employee Handbook for Finding and Managing Romance on the Job, 38% of employees ages twenty- five to twenty-nine have had an office romance (Losee & Olen, 2007, p. 55). Now, many individuals view office romances as an unavoidable trend as a result of people working together that share the same common interests (Losee & Olen, 2007). However, many people wonder what can be done to decrease the problematic situations that can arise when office romances occur in the workplace. A Consensual Relationship Agreement is a written contract that helps to address the issues created by office romances (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011). This agreement acknowledges that such relationships will develop and ask that the parties inform their immediate supervisor of any romantic relationship (Merrill & Knox, 2010, p. 171). The contract will confidentially verify that the relationship is consensual (Merrill & Knox, 2010, p. 171). The goal of this policy is to prevent cases of sexual harassment, perceptions of favoritism, and inappropriate workplace behavior (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011). As an elementary educator in the Memphis City School System, I have observed many aspects of office dating and its negative effects. Many times an office romance can go sour and as a result, relationship disputes spill over into the workplace. Such hostile disputes can easily distract employees and decrease their effectiveness. Therefore, a Consensual Relationship Agreement should be signed by employees in the Memphis City School System to

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