This archive report was first published on 31 July 2019.
Published on July 31, 2019, a groundbreaking study by the University of Texas has shed light on the connection between personal infidelity and professional misconduct.
The study, titled 'Personal Infidelity and Professional Conduct in 4 settings,' analyzed data from 11,235 individuals across four groups, including police officers, financial advisers, defendants in SEC cases, and CEOs and CFOs.
According to Samuel Kruger, co-author of the research, 'This is the first study that's been able to look at whether there is a correlation between personal infidelity and professional conduct. We find a strong correlation, which tells us that infidelity is informative about expected professional conduct.'
Even after controlling for various executive and cultural variables, the researchers found that individuals with histories of misconduct were significantly more likely to have affairs.
The study's findings suggest a strong connection between personal and professional actions, providing support for the idea that eliminating workplace sexual misconduct could also reduce fraudulent activity.
As Kruger noted, 'Our results show that personal sexual conduct is correlated with professional conduct. Eliminating sexual misconduct in the workplace could have the extra benefit of contributing to more ethical corporate cultures in general.'
