I run a small company and am wondering what the consequences are of starting up a romantic relationship with one of my employees, and how it will affect my business and relationship with other employees.

I know romantic relationships with people who work under you are discouraged, however Hi Dave, I've modified your question to address the concerns raised by @Chad, and have voted to reopen it. They met and started dating when she was studying under him. They probably broke all sorts of university regulations and crossed a bunch of boundaries. Like everythign else in life this is a riks/benefit tradeoff.

In the end she lost her job too because he married someone else.

Ok let's be blunt and share some of the negative consequences I have personally experienced or observed from bosses dating their subordinates: It is risky, it is far less likely to work than not to work.

If I've changed it too much from your original question, feel free to edit it further or roll back the changes. Dating subordinates is almost always a bad idea, except when it's a great idea. Other employees may end up resentful and there will be a drop of productivity if so.

Likely you will treat her differently than the others such as giving her information that she in her current position should not have, refusing to see her performance problems, etc.

This may be hindered by a major breakup between employees.

Office relationships often also rise out of office friendships, in which mutual trust is already present.

Because the two employees work together, they see each other almost daily, providing them with ample time to learn each other’s work ethics, personalities, and even beliefs.

These are characteristics that help determine whether or not a pair matches.

That percentage is on the rise, and it’s no surprise: we spend one-third of our lives at work.

So, is it possible to allow cupid’s arrows in the office—but steer clear of legal landmines?