Have you considered further challenges in this narrative? Who would be the one to make the decision to fire Brin from the company, given his position and stock holdings? Plus, should his girlfriend be fired? If so, on what basis? Is it possible for them to be professionally separated when one of them is the CEO? Does Google need a clearer policy on workplace romance? If so, how would you suggest Google’s policy be modified?What should company leadership do when it learns that the firm’s founder is “fraternizing” with an employee who is in a subordinate position? Google co-founder Sergey Brin became romantically involved with a Google employee and subsequently divorced his wife.

Complicating things further, Brin’s former sister-in-law and former brother-in-law (his ex-wife’s family members) both have major positions at Google. Brin insists that nothing about his new—or former—relationship will impact Google from a business perspective. But some suspect that this story is only the beginning of a larger problem for Google.

Google maintains an informal approach to workplace dating, and its code of conduct does not prohibit dating between employees.

The code states:

Romantic relationships between co-workers can, depending on the work roles and respective positions of the co-workers involved, create an actual or apparent conflict of interest. If a romantic relationship does create an actual or apparent conflict, it may require changes to work arrangements or even the termination of employment of either or both individuals involved.