Dating a coworker, manager, or team lead can land you in trouble in the workplace, so it’s best to know the rules before entering into a romantic relationship with a colleague.
So if you’re a new or current employee at Home Depot looking to ask out a colleague, you may be wondering – what is Home Depot’s dating policy? Here is what I’ve found out!
Home Depot Dating Policy
Home Depot advises against dating between employees that work in direct contact, suppliers, and service providers such as contractors and vendors. Managers, team leaders, and keyholders should not become romantically involved with a store associate or entry-level individual, as it can be deemed an abuse of power.
If you want to learn more about whether employees from different stores can date, whether Home Depot can fire you for dating a coworker, and much more, keep on reading!
How Does Home Depot Classify Dating?
The term dating is often categorized as two individuals that are romantically or sexually involved with each other.
If you are unsure whether your relationship is in breach of Home Depot’s code of conduct, you can contact Corporate Compliance.
Does Home Depot Allow Romantic Partners To Work Together?
Home Depot’s code of conduct handbook does not explicitly disallow romantic partners who work in equal positions to work with each other.
However, the company highly discourages partners from directly contacting one another as it may affect their professional performance.
For example, two coworkers who work on the same professional level at the same Home Depot store may need to undergo a Corporate Compliance review.
During this review, they may be asked to give feedback about their colleagues, and being in a relationship with a coworker may interfere with honest feedback.
Can Home Depot Fire You For Dating A Colleague?
Home Depot is committed to upholding its core values and code of conduct to ensure that it is a safe, ethical, and professional workplace.
Additionally, executing an effective code of conduct can also help maintain a positive brand image and excellent customer service.
Because of this, any employee that breaches Home Depot’s code of conduct may be given an initial warning, and repeat offenses may then result in termination of your contract.
Employees may face termination if they are entertaining an inappropriate relationship with a colleague, as romantic relationships are referenced in the code of conduct handbook.
What Happens If A Home Depot Manager Dates An Employee?
A romantic relationship between a manager or figure of authority and a store associate is deemed highly inappropriate at Home Depot.
If you are a manager, keyholder, team leader, supervisor, or salaried individual, you should avoid romantic involvement with store associates.
Relationships between authoritative figures, customer assistants, or entry-level workers can disrupt a store’s equilibrium.
It also increases the risk of favoritism, which can negatively influence other team members’ experience at work, lowering the store’s overall productivity.
What Happens If An Employee Dates A Customer At Home Depot?
If a customer already in an established relationship with an employee enters the store, Home Depot does not deem this a conflict.
Home Depot offers protection to customers to ensure they are not subject to potentially harassing behavior.
Due to this, you should act appropriately in-store and never act romantically toward a customer.
Can Home Depot Associates Date Vendors?
Home Depot ‘cautions against’ starting a romantic or social relationship with direct suppliers that can obstruct your professional performance.
A current board member, consultant, advisor, or employee should inform Home Depot of an existing relationship with a supplier, service provider (e.g., third-party contractor), or vendor.
Can You Date Someone From Another Home Depot Store?
The Business code of conduct and ethics handbook predominantly refers to colleagues and vendors who work directly with each other.
So a relationship between employees based at different locations may be fine since it will not affect the performance of either employee while at work.
If you are a Home Depot employee, you might also be interested in reading up on the Home Depot dress code, the Home Depot bereavement policy, and the Home Depot firing policy.
Conclusion
Home Depot’s code of conduct discourages romantic relations between any coworker, supplier, or third-party service-provider.
Additionally, employees with managerial or keyholder status should not start dating a store associate as it can negatively impact other team members. Any existing relationships should be declared and potentially reviewed by the Corporate Compliance team.
