Russian church warns against workplace romances

Employers should give preference to married staff, a senior Russian cleric has suggested

Employers and staff should have families and avoid engaging in relationships with colleagues, according to the Russian Orthodox Church’s deputy chair for external relations.

In an interview with the “Gazeta” newspaper, Vakhtang Kipshidze acknowledged that there may be good candidates among bachelors and divorcees, but stressed that it should not be standard practice to hire them.

“It’s not about limiting the rights of candidates for the job. It’s more about the social norm becoming that male managers and employees are all family men. There can be exceptions, but they shouldn’t become the norm,” he said, without specifying whether the same practice should be applied to women.

Kipshidze went on to say that divorce should become less common and that “if we want to move towards a more traditional way of thinking, divorce should be seen as a tragedy.”

The cleric stressed that men should get married and have families rather than getting involved in workplace romances.

“If we’re talking about men, they should assume greater responsibility for creating families, rather than maintaining relationships that are undemanding and unburdensome, including those with colleagues at work," the Russian Orthodox Church representative concluded.

Read more

In an earlier statement on Friday, Kipshidze also said that when someone is appointed to a managerial position, their family status is especially important. “If someone can’t create their own family, it’s a big question mark over whether they can lead large teams,” he argued.

President Vladimir Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church have long been champions of traditional family values, and the Russian leadership has taken a number of steps in recent months to tackle population decline.

In October, the State Duma passed a bill that would introduce fines for those who promote “child-free ideology.” The move is part of a wider effort to protect traditional values.