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Why would it necessarily? I've done it without consequences and I've seen plenty of others do so as well. Depending on the culture and management sure there co

Why would it necessarily? I've done it without consequences and I've seen plenty of others do so as well. Depending on the culture and management sure there could be consequences (especially if they have rules against it) but I'm not sure I understand the default position of assuming consequences.

pmiller2 10y ago
Why take the risk? There's almost certainly no benefit to disclosing, and possible (even if unlikely) consequences for doing so.
- tdb7893 10y ago
  I know someone who had a problem because they didn't disclose it and the other person ended up harassing them so it would've been waaayyy easier if they had talked to HR about it before.
- cookiecaper 10y ago
  The benefit in disclosing is avoiding the penalty for dishonesty (which is usually termination). It's true that many companies aren't going to fire you for being in a relationship, but they want to know so they can manage both their legal and professional liabilities. Leaving the legal component aside for now, creating a reporting relationship between people who are romantically involved is usually a bad idea -- even if both people are perfectly objective about it, no one else will believe they are, and it will cause contention and suspicion in the ranks. No employer wants to deal with that.
  - BinaryIdiot 10y ago
    > creating a reporting relationship between people who are romantically involved is usually a bad idea -- even if both people are perfectly objective about it, no one else will believe they are, and it will cause contention and suspicion in the ranks. No employer wants to deal with that. Most employers I've worked at when this happened simply shifted responsibilities. So even if the person was "technically" under the other person, they would now report to someone else and their partner would have zero input into any performance processes. Granted now perfect especially in small companies but most companies I've worked at seem pretty understanding that this type of thing happens and there are ways to work around it. Surely not all places are like this but I'd like to think a fair amount are and I'd also like to think this is a good way to handle the situation.

pmiller2 10y ago

Why take the risk? There's almost certainly no benefit to disclosing, and possible (even if unlikely) consequences for doing so.

tdb7893 10y ago
I know someone who had a problem because they didn't disclose it and the other person ended up harassing them so it would've been waaayyy easier if they had talked to HR about it before.
cookiecaper 10y ago
The benefit in disclosing is avoiding the penalty for dishonesty (which is usually termination). It's true that many companies aren't going to fire you for being in a relationship, but they want to know so they can manage both their legal and professional liabilities. Leaving the legal component aside for now, creating a reporting relationship between people who are romantically involved is usually a bad idea -- even if both people are perfectly objective about it, no one else will believe they are, and it will cause contention and suspicion in the ranks. No employer wants to deal with that.
- BinaryIdiot 10y ago
  > creating a reporting relationship between people who are romantically involved is usually a bad idea -- even if both people are perfectly objective about it, no one else will believe they are, and it will cause contention and suspicion in the ranks. No employer wants to deal with that. Most employers I've worked at when this happened simply shifted responsibilities. So even if the person was "technically" under the other person, they would now report to someone else and their partner would have zero input into any performance processes. Granted now perfect especially in small companies but most companies I've worked at seem pretty understanding that this type of thing happens and there are ways to work around it. Surely not all places are like this but I'd like to think a fair amount are and I'd also like to think this is a good way to handle the situation.