Sex in the Office
By Peggy Vaughan
How does the company deal with all this sexuality in the workplace?
Very few companies deal directly with the issue of sex in the office. If at all possible, they ignore it. In small companies, where it may be more difficult to ignore, there's more likelihood of action—but it's usually based on reacting to a given situation, not on having a clear policy. In most instances, it's simply not on the company's agenda as an issue to be dealt with.
One reason companies tend to avoid this issue is that monitoring people's personal lives is not generally seen as the responsibility of business unless it clearly interferes with productivity. It's only when other employees officially complain and demand that something be done that the company is likely to take action.
Basically, the company only addresses whatever sexual problems it is forced to deal with. Whatever effort the company makes toward curtailing sexual activity is usually in response to a specific demand from one or more individuals within the organization. And most of these demands take the form of complaints about sexual harassment rather than about affairs between two consenting employees.
Perhaps the most subtle, but most pervasive, reason companies don't take action in dealing with office affairs is that there is no separate entity called "The Company;" there are only individuals (usually men) in positions of authority. And many of these men are either involved in affairs themselves or are close personal friends with other men who are involved. Either way, they're less than eager to "rock the boat."
Clearly, this is a sensitive issue that most people in business prefer to avoid. Since they feel there's no way they can win in dealing with it, they simply do nothing.