you can 100% build real and genuine human relationships with people who start out as fans or employees.
you can connect with people on a human level, even when there is a power imbalance.
CRITICALLY, there are limits to how close those relationships can become while the power imbalance exists!
When I was a young grad student, the teaching orientation involved a tiny old Russian professor telling us "Do not sleep with undergrads you supervise. If you feel you cannot avoid this, you must come to my office and say «Dr. X, I think I want to sleep with this student» and I will reassign (1/2)
the supervisees so they are no longer one of yours. This will be a very awkward conversation, but I promise it will be twenty times less awkward than the conversation that happens if I come to your office and say «So I hear you forgot the rule from orientation...»!". This left us all pretty clear.
in grad school we got the Jesus Fucking Christ, Can You At Least Keep It In Your Pants Until The Class Is Over And Grades Are In Rather Than Fucking The Undergrads In The Classes You’re Currently TAing talk
I remember "A Man's Guide to Fatherhood" that had an entire chapter that, overall, had just one message: "Don't try to fuck the babysitter. Just... don't."
(yes, and) "if the only people around you are your fans or employees maybe take a moment to ask yourself why and maybe do a bit of work on building your social circle"
this is an artifact of watching it go wrong and how weird that is when ppl have to go to work with someone who was crying and screaming at them 36 hours ago
i'm sure people more mature than my coworkers could do a better job lol
In science and engineering fields, "anti-nepotism" rules against both members of a couple working for the same firm were often used as excuses to discriminate against women.
