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Interpersonal Relationship Types 147

same office, you’re probably both interested in the same field, have similar training and
ambitions, and spend considerable time together—all factors that foster the development of
a successful interpersonal relationship. Another advantage is that office romances can lead
to greater work satisfaction. If you’re romantically attracted to another worker, it can make
going to work, working together, and even working added hours more enjoyable and more
satisfying.
Office relationships, however, may cause problems for management when, for example, a For another perspective on office
promotion is to be made or relocation decisions are necessary. When an office romance goes romance, see “Romance in the
bad or when it’s one-sided, it can be especially difficult. One obvious problem is that it can be Workplace” at tcbdevito
stressful for the former partners to see each other regularly and to continue to work together. .blogspot.com. What are your
Other workers may feel they have to take sides, being supportive of one partner and critical of feelings about office romance?
the other, which can cause friction throughout the organization. Another, perhaps more seri-
ous, issue is the potential for charges of sexual harassment, especially if the romance was be-
tween a supervisor and a worker. Watch the Video
The generally negative attitude of management (as well as explicit policies, rules, and “Power Moment” at
regulations) toward workplace relationships and the problems inherent in dealing with the MyCommunicationLab
normal stresses of both work and romance seem to outweigh the positive ben-
efits that may be derived from such relationships. Therefore, workers are
generally advised not to romance their colleagues. Friendship seems the
much safer course.

Bullying Bullying, especially prominent in the workplace (but also oc-
curs in close relationships, the playground, or even the family) consists of
abusive acts repeatedly committed by one person (or a group) against an-
other. Bullying is behavior that has become a pattern; it’s repeated fre-
quently rather than being an isolated instance. On the playground, bullying
often involves physical abuse; in the workplace (at least in most civilized
countries), bullying is generally verbal. Bullying may take a variety of forms:
gossiping about other employees, making them the butt of jokes, treating
them as inferior—for example, frequently interrupting them or otherwise
not giving their ideas due attention—excluding someone from social func-
tions, verbal insults, name calling, negative facial expressions, sneering,
avoiding eye contact, excessive blaming, being supervised (watched, moni-
tored) more closely than others, being unnecessarily criticized, often with
shouting and in public. From an ethical point of view, bullying destroys a
person’s right to personal dignity and a workplace free from intimidation
and is therefore unethical. And yet, bullying is not illegal in the United
States, unless it involves harassment based on a person’s gender or race, for
example.
A special type of bullying is cyberbullying, which can take place
through any electronic communication system—Facebook, Twitter,
e-mail, instant messages, blog posts—and can take the form of sending
threatening messages or images, posting negative comments, revealing
secrets, or lying about another person. Among the reasons why cyberbully-
ing is so important is that it can occur at any time; the messages, photos,
and videos can be distributed quickly and widely; the bully can hide be-
hind false names or anonymity; and attacks—because they occur electroni- ViewpOintS
cally—are often more cruel than those made in face-to-face attacks Cyberbullying
(Hinduja & Patchin, 2008). According to the StopBullying website for the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Service, a 2009 survey
of 13- to 18-year-olds reported that 15% of respondents
Online-Only RelatiOnShipS said they had been cyberbullyied; in another study of 12-
In addition to the friendships, romantic, family, and workplace to 17-year-olds, 33% said they were threatened or em-
relationships—which will probably involve both face-to-face and online barrassed by things said about them online. What has
been your experience with cyberbullying? In what ways
experiences—there is another group of what might be called “online-only” might it be discouraged?
relationships. These are the relationships that exist between a Tweeter and a