Supervisor and Employee Romance Case Discussion

 

 

It is not uncommon for colleagues to discover their common personal interests in the workplace, but most organizations and agencies rather frown on the development of romantic relationships. If you were the supervisor and found yourself involved in a romantic relationship with an employee over whom you exercise authority, what ethical principles may be violated, and what would be your ethical obligations? Discuss what your decisions would be, and the reasoning behind those decisions.

Analyze the application of three specific ethical principles (giving due consideration to the National Organization of Human Services’ “Ethical Standards for Human Services Professionals”) that you suggest should guide a supervisor engaged in a romantic relationship with an employee and that address the problem of the power relationship.

Your initial post must:

• Be at least 250 words in length.
• Contain a minimum of two references with citations in APA style.

2Case Study: Employee’s Intimacy With a Client

Human services professionals have the unique role among most professionals of serving as an ally to clients, friends, and employees working together. The potential for engaging in dual roles (the professional and the personal-intimate) is a challenge to the profession, since human relations do depend on emotions as well as rational actions.

Consider the scenario of the counseling psychologist and her daughter, a mental health counselor, from the case example on pages 329–330 of the Becoming an Ethical Helping Professional text. This case study requires your decision on the most appropriate approach to solving the dilemma produced by the daughter’s relationship to her client. Suppose that you are responsible for supervising the psychologist in her relationship to her daughter and the daughter’s relationship to the client.

Evaluate and discuss the complex relationship between the members of this case, expressed in terms of dual-role analysis. Present your decisions for how best to resolve the dilemma posed by the case.