當(dāng)首席執(zhí)行官與員工約會時，事情很快就會變得一團(tuán)糟

當(dāng)首席執(zhí)行官與員工約會時，事情很快就會變得一團(tuán)糟

A CEO is entitled to a love life. But when it involves someone at work, things get very dicey very fast -- for the CEO, for the employee and, if handled badly, for the company.

CEO有權(quán)享受愛情生活。但如果涉及到工作中的某個人，如果處理不當(dāng)，事情很快就會變得非常危險，對首席執(zhí)行官、對員工，對公司也是如此。

That said, there's a reason the idea of a CEO marrying his secretary is cliché. Chief executives do find partners at the office -- and not just at the assistant level.

也就是說，CEO和他的秘書結(jié)婚是老生常談的話題，這是有原因的。首席執(zhí)行官們的確會在辦公室里找到合作伙伴，而且不只是在助理級別。

Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), said he once asked a roomful of CEOs how many had ever dated someone at work and about 70% raised their hands.

美國人力資源管理協(xié)會首席執(zhí)行官小約翰尼•c•泰勒說，有一次他問滿屋子的首席執(zhí)行官，有多少人曾經(jīng)與同事約會過，約70%的人都舉手了。

But in today's corporate world, boards are on high alert for anything that poses a reputational or financial risk to the company.

但在當(dāng)今的企業(yè)界，董事會對任何可能給公司帶來聲譽或財務(wù)風(fēng)險的事情都高度警惕。

At the end of October, McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook abruptly resigned from his post for having what was described as a consensual relationship with an employee.

10月底，麥當(dāng)勞首席執(zhí)行官史蒂夫•伊斯特布魯克突然辭職，原因是他與一名員工存在所謂的“情感關(guān)系”。

The board said Easterbrook "violated company policy and demonstrated poor judgment." Easterbrook himself said in an email to employees that having the relationship was "a mistake" and that he agreed with the board's decision.

董事會表示，伊斯特布魯克“違反了公司政策，表現(xiàn)出了糟糕的判斷力”。伊斯特布魯克本人在一封給員工的電子郵件中表示，開始這種關(guān)系是一個“錯誤”，他同意董事會的決定。

Nothing more is publicly known about his relationship other than it was described as consensual.

關(guān)于他的關(guān)系，除了被描述為兩廂情愿之外，沒有其他公開的信息。

But even in a best-case scenario -- where the CEO and the employee are both consenting, unmarried adults who don't have any direct dealings with each other at work -- that can still pose problems.

但即使在最好的情況下——CEO和員工都是自愿的，在工作中沒有任何直接交接的未婚成年人-這仍然會帶來問題。

There's no controlling others' perceptions

沒有人能控制別人的看法

Being in a relationship with the boss will make others at the company suspect that favoritism is at play. And that will undercut the employee's professional accomplishments and reputation.

與老板有某種關(guān)系會讓公司里的其他人懷疑有偏袒傾向。這將削弱員工的專業(yè)成就和聲譽。

"It also undermines the idea of meritocracy and the idea that everyone has a fair shot," Taylor said.

“這也破壞了精英主義的理念，以及人人都有公平機會的理念，”泰勒說。

Love gone bad is a potential lawsuit gone wild

愛情變質(zhì)是一場潛在的訴訟

If a romance between a CEO and an employee sours, it may come out that the relationship wasn't as consensual as the CEO thought.

如果一名CEO和一名員工之間的戀情搞砸了，結(jié)果可能是這種關(guān)系并不像這位CEO想的那樣兩廂情愿。

"Ultimately, many of them that begin as consensual end up as complaints of harassment," said Cari Dominguez, a former chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and a board member of the National Association of Corporate Directors, in an e-mail.

平等就業(yè)機會委員會前主席、全美企業(yè)董事協(xié)會理事卡里·多明格斯在一封電子郵件中表示:“最終，許多最初是雙方自愿，最后變成了性騷擾投訴。”

That, of course, creates legal problems for the CEO and the company.

這當(dāng)然會給CEO和公司帶來法律問題。

Some company policies won't outright prohibit relationships between executives and subordinates. But they are likely to classify them as potential conflicts of interest subject to review by the board, Taylor said.

一些公司政策不會完全禁止高管與下屬之間的關(guān)系。但他們可能會將其歸類為潛在的利益沖突，接受董事會的審查，泰勒說。

In that case, both the CEO and the employee would be required to disclose that they're having a consensual relationship. That puts the employee on record as saying it's consensual.

在這種情況下，CEO和員工都必須披露他們之間的關(guān)系是兩廂情愿的。這讓員工公開表示，這是雙方自愿的。

What if the relationship is the real deal?

如果這段關(guān)系是真的呢?

If a relationship between a CEO and an employee is serious, and they're not willing to give it up, it might make sense for the employee to leave the company, Taylor said.

泰勒說，如果CEO和員工之間的關(guān)系是認(rèn)真的，他們不愿意放棄，那么員工離開公司可能是有道理的。

That may not be ideal. But it's less than ideal when a CEO dates an employee in the first place.

這可能并不理想。但如果首席執(zhí)行官一開始就和員工約會，那就不太理想了。

"There are tradeoffs once you assume the role of CEO. It's about choices," Taylor said.

“一旦你承擔(dān)了CEO的角色，就得權(quán)衡（這種關(guān)系）。這關(guān)乎選擇，”泰勒說。