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from the not-an-essential-relationship dept.
Andy Rubin has taken a leave of absence from Essential Products following the disclosure of the circumstances of his departure from Google:
Essential founder and CEO Andy Rubin has taken a leave of absence from his new company for "personal reasons" following a report on the circumstances of his 2014 departure from Google. According to The Information, Rubin left Google shortly after an investigation found that he had maintained an "inappropriate relationship" with a woman who worked under him and filed a complaint to HR.
The nature of that relationship isn't detailed in the report, and Rubin's spokesperson Mike Sitrick denies the connection. "Any relationship that Mr. Rubin had while at Google was consensual," Sitrick tells The Information. "Mr. Rubin was never told by Google that he engaged in any misconduct while at Google and he did not, either while at Google or since." Rubin is said to have told Essential employees of his leave of absence on Monday after The Information informed Sitrick of its story.
The Information's information about the matter is not extensive. Here is the important paragraph:
Google initiated its investigation after an employee complained to the company's Human Resources division about her relationship with Mr. Rubin, according to three people familiar with the matter. The people declined to elaborate on the specific nature of the woman's complaint against Mr. Rubin.
Essential Products released a high-end Android smartphone in May and will release a "smart" speaker later this year.
Also at Engadget, 9to5Google, and Fast Company.
Update: Here is Essential's Bi-weekly AMA where they basically assured users that the company is still operating, business as usual.
(Score: 5, Informative) by Thexalon on Friday December 01 2017, @02:56PM (4 children)
There are a few simple rules in play here:
1. Don't date people you work with. That's the simplest way to avoid running afoul of HR policies, avoid sexual harassment suits, etc.
2. Consider using your words. Saying "I'd really like to kiss you right now" isn't going to get her saying "no" if she's interested. And if she says "no", and you respect that, you aren't a harasser.
3. If you're preferring non-verbal communication, then take your time and give her the chance to accept or reject with her words or actions what you want to do. Using that first kiss example again, if you approach slowly, that builds the anticipation if she wants to and allows her to move away if she doesn't. And again, respect her decision, whatever it is.
There are also quite a few women out there that prefer to take the initiative, in which case all of the above is reversed: Is she respecting your decisions and boundaries? Is she taking advantage of an imbalance of power (e.g. she's your boss)? Is she giving you a chance to reject her advances?
The idea that you can't be with somebody without committing an act of sexual harassment is one of those myths that predators use to convince guys to be on their side.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 02 2017, @04:02AM (3 children)
I'm glad me and my wife didn't follow this. Count off - who here besides me ended up happily married to a coworker?
One...
(Score: 2) by Nuke on Saturday December 02 2017, @03:38PM (2 children)
No other replies, so just you then.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 02 2017, @08:31PM (1 child)
Either less than 5 people read my post, or the happily qualifier disqualified them:
http://www.businessinsider.com/surprising-office-romance-statistics-2016-2 [businessinsider.com]
(Score: 2) by Nuke on Sunday December 03 2017, @12:03AM
TBH, there have never been any female co-workers where I am in heavy engineering, except an occasional snooty married middle aged woman as the director's secretary.