Workplace romance: rationale for human resource practitioners’ intervention. a case of a local authority in Zimbabwe

Abstract

Workplace romance is a reality in many organizations, both at a global scale and in the Zimbabwe context but according to Powell and Foley (1998) it is also a subject that is rarely talked about by scholars evidenced by meagre scholarly literature. In this regard the high frequency in which these relationships occur has not been quite proportionate to the minimal attention that Zimbabwean H.R practitioners have given the subject of workplace romance. In this light, it is fundamental to explore workplace romance in a Zimbabwean context so as to further understand this phenomenon. Ariani et al. (2011) emphasize that H.R leaders should think more broadly and strategically about managing workplace romance. Furthermore, the scholars argue that the H.R leaders should be at the heart of managing workplace romance by taking ownership of and accountability for the challenging task of managing risks and rewards of workplace romance. This research study explored the forms of workplace romance in a local authority in Zimbabwe and the role played by Human Resource Practitioners in managing it. A sample size of 27 respondents was drawn from a sample frame of 73 employees who make up the staff compliment of personnel at the headquarters that houses the administrative departments of the local authority. Moreover, the research endeavour was qualitative in nature, making use of semi-structured interviews and semi-structured questionnaires as primary sources of data as well as company material and various literature as secondary data sources. The qualitative approach was resourceful in the research in as far as providing a rich, comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the subject under study.