An examination of the perceived fairness of workplace romance policies

Fairness perceptions regarding several workplace romance policies (i.e., no action, counsel, verbal reprimand, written warning, transfer, terminate) a pplied to different types of couples (e.g., lateral vs. hierarchical) in a variety of situations (e.g.; couple's performance improves vs, declines) we re examined. We found the counsel policy was perceived more fair than any o ther policy. Stricter workplace romance policies (verbal reprimand, written warning, transfer) were perceived fair when the couple's performance decli ned or the romance was highly visible. Taking no action was perceived more fair than any other policy when the couple's performance improved. These re sults and others are discussed.