Sexual Relationships and Organizational Justice
Sexual relationships are often perceived as an issue that is best kept private within personal circles, but they can have significant impacts on employee attitudes towards their workplace environment. Specifically, how these relationships may influence workers' perceptions of fairness, reward distribution, and organizational justice has received relatively little attention from researchers until recently. This article will explore what studies have found about this matter so far.
Researchers have investigated whether employees who engage in sexual relationships with co-workers tend to see themselves as more deserving than those who do not when it comes to receiving positive treatment from managers. One study conducted interviews with employees across different levels of an organization and discovered that those who had romantic relationships felt more deserving than those who did not, particularly if their partners were also higher up in the hierarchy. Another study surveyed participants and found similar results; individuals who reported having intimate contact with colleagues perceived themselves as being given special treatment by supervisors or managers compared to those who did not.
Studies have also examined whether sexual relationships affect employees' beliefs about whether rewards are distributed fairly within organizations.
One study asked participants to read a scenario involving two coworkers with differing job performance levels and then asked them questions related to how fairly they thought promotions were allocated. Those who identified as being involved in a relationship with a colleague tended to think that promotion decisions were less justified than others. Other research has shown that people who engaged in sexual activity at work believed that their employer was biased against other employees, suggesting that there is an inherent conflict between promoting equality and allowing such relationships.
There appears to be some evidence linking sexual involvement among workers to perceptions of organizational fairness. A study using vignettes found that participants rated situations where individuals had sex with co-workers as unfair regardless of performance level.
Another investigation used experimental designs and showed that participants who read scenarios involving consensual encounters perceived their organization as being less fair overall. This suggests that even when these interactions occur without any form of bias from management, they may still lead employees to feel uncomfortable or concerned about potential imbalances.
It seems clear that sexual relationships can impact how employees view their place of work regarding issues like fairness, reward distribution, and justice. More research needs to be done on this topic, but the current findings suggest that employers should consider implementing policies addressing intimacy between staff members if they want to ensure equitable treatment for all personnel.
How do sexual relationships affect employees' perceptions of fairness, reward distribution, and organizational justice?
According to researchers (Bakker & Demerouti, 2017), employees who experience sexual harassment may perceive unfair treatment, while their colleagues are more likely to feel comfortable with each other and express gratitude. Therefore, these feelings can influence how employees perceive rewards and justice within an organization, potentially leading them to believe that they have been treated fairly if there is a good balance between positive and negative experiences related to sex.