Valentine's Day is an appropriate time to think about how to deal effectively with workplace romance. Real-life workplaces rarely reflect movie scenarios. Consider:

• Mel Gibson's character whose accidental electrocution in What Women Want allows him to understand the innermost thoughts of his female coworker and family members, and whose epiphany allows him to "capture" the woman of his dreams—even while plotting to have her fired;
• Hugh Grant's character in Two Weeks Notice who shamelessly uses the legal skills of his in-house attorney, played by Sandra Bullock, to build his real estate empire until she quits ... but then realizes how much she misses him and accepts his attempts to reunite;
• "Working Girl" Tess McGill (Melanie Griffith) falling head over heels for businessman Jack Trainer (Harrison Ford) who is in a romantic relationship with McGill's boss (Sigourney Weaver); McGill's persistence finally results in Trainer realizing his true feelings for her, and she ends up working in his company in a management role.

Relevant Statistics

While real-life workplace situations rarely turn out so smoothly (although from a gender equity perspective, it's questionable as to whether those movie scenarios actually can be considered to have turned out "smoothly"), statistics show that the public generally accepts consensual workplace romances. However, increased social acceptance has not translated into lowered legal risk for companies, large or small, especially in the #MeToo...

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