The news on Wednesday that Google cofounder Sergey Brin had become involved with a Google employee and had split with his wife of six years, Anne Wojcicki, highlights the fallout that can result from an office romance.
周三傳出新聞,谷歌公司創(chuàng)始人謝爾蓋-布林與該公司的一名員工發(fā)生了婚外戀,并已與結婚六年的妻子安妮-沃西基分居。該新聞突顯了一場辦公室戀情可能帶來的種種后果。
A spokesman for Brin and Wojcicki told Forbes that the two have been living apart for several months but “remain good friends and partners.” All Things D also reported that, according to sources, they have a prenuptial agreement and that their split and potential divorce would have no impact on Google.
布林和沃西基的一位發(fā)言人告訴福布斯:兩人已經(jīng)分居數(shù)月但“仍然保持著良好的朋友和伙伴關系”??萍疾┛虯ll Things D還報道稱,據(jù)消息人士透露,他們簽有一份婚前協(xié)議,兩人分居甚或是今后可能的離婚都不會給谷歌帶來任何影響。
It could be that everything works out fine for Brin, Wojcicki and Brin’s new romantic partner. But lawyers and career coaches say that getting involved with a colleague or boss can turn into a minefield of problems.
對于布林、沃西基和布林的新歡而言,這一切可能都沒什么大不了的。但律師們和職業(yè)教練們表示,與同事或老板發(fā)生愛戀可能會陷入危機四伏的境地。
Nevertheless, Brin is among a growing number of people who find their love interests at work. According to a 2013 survey by the job search website CareerBuilder.com, 39% of workers say they’ve dated a colleague at some point in their careers.
不過,越來越多的人在工作中找到了意中人,布林只是其中的一個。根據(jù)求職網(wǎng)站CareerBuilder所做的一份2013年調(diào)查,39%的工作者稱曾與同事約會過。
Nearly a third say they married the person they dated at work. Another career website, Vault.com, found that 59% of respondents had dated a colleague at least once during their career.
近三分之一的人表示,他們與辦公室戀人結了婚。另一個職業(yè)網(wǎng)站Vault發(fā)現(xiàn),59%的受訪者至少與同事約會過一次。
The office is a hotbed of romance–and a more effective one than dating websites or the corner bar. Helaine Olen, coauthor with Stephanie Losee of Office Mate: The Employee Handbook for Finding–and Managing–Romance on the Job, says the workplace is where most people find love these days. “The office has turned into the village of the 21st century,” she says. “Where else do you spend 12 hours a day?”
辦公室是戀情的滋生地,比約會網(wǎng)站或酒吧的孤身角落都更富有成效。與史蒂芬妮-盧西合著《辦公室戀情之員工法則》的赫萊茵-奧倫說道,如今大多數(shù)人在工作場合找到愛情。“在21世紀,辦公室已經(jīng)變成了一個小村子,”她說,“還有什么地方你會一天待上12個小時?”
And fewer workers are keeping their romances secret. CareerBuilder found that 65% of workers who had office relationships were public about them, compared with 46% seven years ago. The survey of 4,200 workers was conducted for CareerBuilder by Harris Interactive.
越來越少的工作者對戀情進行保密。CareerBuilder網(wǎng)站發(fā)現(xiàn),65%有辦公室戀情的人選擇了公開,相比之下七年前這個比例僅為46%。這份采訪了4,200名工作者的調(diào)查結果是哈里斯互動公司為CareerBuilder網(wǎng)站而做的。
While people are more relaxed about office dating than they were in the 1990s, and Brin and his new love interest may live happily ever after, in many cases, boss-employee relationships end badly. Brin’s relationship raises one of the most obvious issues: the breakup of a marriage.
盡管與90年代相比現(xiàn)在人們對待辦公室戀情不再那么神經(jīng)緊張,而且布林和他的新歡可能從此幸福地生活在一起,但在很多情況下,老板和員工之間的戀情會慘淡收場。布林的戀情提出了一個再明顯不過的問題:婚姻破裂。
But another perilous scenario, says employment lawyer Kathleen McKenna of New York’s Proskauer law firm is a sexual harassment suit brought by the underling. Such suits are based on either a claim of a hostile work environment or a charge that there was f-me-or-you’re-fired quid pro quo harassment.
但紐約普洛思律師事務所的勞動法律師凱薩琳-麥凱納稱,還有一種更危險的情況:由下級提起的性騷擾指控。這樣的案件往往指控老板給自己小鞋兒穿,或者威脅如若不從就會被炒魷魚。
Given that office romance seems to be inevitable, I asked McKenna and another lawyer, plus a career coach, a sociologist and a wise Forbes contributor, for rules that can help ensure that an office romance turns out well.
考慮到辦公室戀情似乎不可避免,我曾向麥凱納和另一名律師,外加一名職業(yè)教練、一位社會學家以及一位睿智的福布斯撰稿人請教,有沒有什么規(guī)則能為辦公室戀情保駕護航。