More and more companies too have revamped their stance on workplace romance since the #MeToo movement took off. For some employers, that means having co-workers who start dating sign a so-called love contract to state on the record that the relationship is consensual. So reports The Chicago Tribune.

"It's changing everyone's perspectives," says Andrew Challenger, vice president of outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. "(It used to be) laissez-faire, people can date who they want to date, but I think companies are realizing to create a safe environment for the employees, there needs to be some policing."

Challenger's firm conducted a survey last month that revealed that more than 60% of 150 human resources executives acknowledged having to deal with a workplace relationship turned sour. More than one-third said that such relationships resulted in at least one person leaving the firm. The survey also prompted 35% to re-evaluate their sexual harassment policies.

An alternative approach--where employers opt for a zero-tolerance policy that forbids their employees to date one another--is not likely to work, says Jeana Anderson Cohen, founder and CEO of Chicago-based fitness blog, aSweatLife. She used to work at a restaurant while attending college and dated a co-worker, as did others at the eatery, but simply kept it secret.

"There was a breakdown in teamwork and communication, and that's the worst scenario," Anderson Cohen says. "You have to be able to trust each other in any workplace."

The survey also revealed that 70% of firms prohibit relationships between a manager and an employee they directly supervise.

Dating a work colleague has always been complicated. But with #MeToo so prominent, more firms have taken formal positions in an area that they have steered clear off in the past, Refinery29 reports.

"It's a weird place. It's a business problem, but one with an emotional component," says Vanessa Butnick Davis, vice-president of research and product development at LegalZoom. "It feels icky: Other business matters feel like they can be handled in a professional way, but once you get into the world of relationships it feels a little bit like you're walking in landmines."

Employers with operations in multiple states also face additional challenges. "State legislation in relation to workplace dating varies as you cross the U.S.," Butnick Davis notes. "Some states give employees a legally protected right of privacy in order to pursue an intimate or sexual relationship at work, whereas other states may give employers the right to ban these relationships entirely. It's important that businesses look into their own state's laws on this topic in order to make sure they're adhering to relevant regulations when it comes to dating in the workplace."

Meanwhile, a new CareerBuilder report finds that office romances have hit a 10-year low, with 36% of workers saying they had dated a co-worker. That number was 41% last year and 40% 10 years ago, CNBC reports.

"Office romance is experiencing a dip, whether it's impacted by the current environment around sexual harassment or by workers not wanting to admit the truth," says CareerBuilder chief human resources officer Rosemary Haefner.

The report also reveals that 9% of women left their job after a relationship turned bad. That compares to 3% of men in the same situation. CareerBuilder surveyed more than 800 full-time, private-sector workers from different industries. The survey was done from Nov. 28 to Dec. 20.

"No matter how you look at office romance, it's a lot more grey and murky than people realize," Haefner notes.

While having employees sign agreements affirming that the relationship is consensual and that the people involved are not being sexually harassed is good practice, these kinds of agreements do not insulate a firm from potential trouble, The National Law Review reports.

"Of course, those acknowledgements will not protect employers from harassment perceived by one of the parties to the relationship after the document is signed, but it could be helpful to show good intentions at the beginning," Rebecca Canary-King, an associate at Schiff Hardin, writes for the publication. "Despite the headaches of documenting all workplace romances, it can be worth the effort if situations arise down the line."

Employers should take all complaints seriously and be proactive in combating sexual harassment. While "one unwanted card or bouquet of flowers may not be enough to establish a sexual harassment claim on its own, it may be one piece of evidence used to establish a pattern of harassment that gives rise to claim," Canary-King writes.