People spend a huge portion of their lives at work, so it’s no surprise that workplace relationships happen. But without clear policies, they can lead to conflicts of interest, unprofessional behavior, and even legal risks.  

When should employees disclose a relationship? How can HR set expectations without overstepping? What role does HR play in preventing harassment at work? A good workplace dating policy answers these questions while keeping things fair, professional, and easy to understand.

Join us as Vanessa Brulotte, Employee Relations Partner at BambooHR, interviews Kelsey Tarp, Director of HR Business Partners at BambooHR, about creating proper dating policies to protect employees and the company. 

  Kelsey shares real examples of how unclear policies can create workplace tension and why disclosure matters for preventing favoritism and bias. Most importantly, Vanessa and Kelsey explore how to ensure workplace relationships—whether they begin or end—don’t disrupt team dynamics.

Key takeaways:

• Why every workplace needs a dating policy
• How to create a policy that employees understand
• Navigating tricky situations with discretion

Key topics:

(00:00) Introducing Kelsey Tarp

(02:20) Craft a workplace dating policy

(05:55) Ensure employees understand your dating policy

(12:37) Which relationships need disclosure?

(18:44) Code of conduct for professional behavior and anti-harassment

(23:03) Build psychological safety through transparency

(30:24) Encourage respectful relationships and accountability

(34:35) Situational judgment for out-of-the-box situations

(37:49) When in doubt, always disclose 

Key links:

Download a free, customizable template for creating your own workplace dating policy:

https://www.bamboohr.com/pl-pages/employee-dating-policy

Read BambooHR’s blog, “Workplace Romance 101”:

https://www.bamboohr.com/blog/workplace-romance

Read BambooHR’s blog, “8 Workplace Romance Facts You Need to Know”: https://www.bamboohr.com/blog/8-workplace-romance-facts-need-know-right-now

Subscribe to HR Unplugged Series: https://www.bamboohr.com/resources/podcasts/hr-unplugged/

Join HR Heroes Slack Community:

https://join.slack.com/t/hrheroesworkspace/shared_invite/zt-21ad3f1r8-dkWC2EdmyhxUAHw9cGLdQw

BambooHR Homepage:

https://www.bamboohr.com/

Connect with Kelsey on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelseytarp/