THE old saying says: “you don’t dip your pen in the company ink” and it’s true there are dangers associated with workplace dating. Some of us might have heard about couples who met at work and lived happily ever after, but the question remains unanswered if that was proper and correct. Now if workplace dating is such a bad idea, why do employees keep doing it? Workplace dating, romance and relationships are a reality. There is need to preserve your image and the business reputation before it goes out of hand. Is workplace dating a reality or a myth? The subject of workplace romance seems to be taboo and very few are comfortable in discussing the issue. I know a lot of people who can argue and say that at our company there are policies and procedures but wait until you hear a scandal at your own company, that’s when you will notice that it’s a reality in almost all organisations. Workplace romance is a reality in many organisations, both at a global scale and in the Zimbabwean context. Given the number of hours we spend at our jobs, it is not surprising that many love matches have been made in the workplace. Regrettably, not all love stories end happily and it’s just an uncontested fact. But even if they do, the potential problems employers face from romances at work should not be ignored. Even if organisations put measures to stop workplace relationships, they are bound to develop. May people justify workplace dating and relations because they feel employees are working longer hours in environments that encourage teamwork and familiarity. More so, as work becomes increasingly intense and time-consuming, individuals find themselves with less leisure time for outside activities where they traditionally meet new people and end up hunting from within. Before you act on your feelings, it’s important to think through the risks associated with that. The reality is, although there are rules surrounding dating in the office, human beings at the end still continue with it. The laws around workplace relationships Under national law, section 24 of the Constitution is an aspirational provision of the right to work. In light of this provision, section 65 confers labour rights on every person and refers directly to the right to fair and safe practices and standards. By its definition, an act of sexual harassment constitutes a violation of the constitutionally protected right to fair labour standards and also violates the right to full and equal dignity. The right to fair and safe labour standards is realised under the provisions of the Labour Act [Chapter28:01] whose primary purpose is regulation of the employer-employee relationship. The Act narrowly defines sexual harassment through inference from section 8(h) which provides for unfair labour practices. Under this provision, engaging in unwelcome sexually-determined behaviour towards an employee, whether verbal or otherwise, such as making physical contact or advances, sexually-coloured remarks or displaying pornographic material in the workplace constitutes commission of an unfa