Infidelity could result in misconduct at workplace

Washington: A recent study has claimed that those who engage in extra-marital affairs are more likely to get pulled up for misconduct at the workplace, thereby establishing the possibility of a link between personal infidelity and professional conduct.

"This is the first study that's been able to look at whether there is a correlation between personal infidelity and professional conduct," said Samuel Kruger, co-author of the study. "We find a strong correlation, which tells us that infidelity is informative about expected professional conduct."

The researchers investigated four study groups incorporating 11,235 individuals. The researchers looked at the records of police officers, financial advisers, white-collar criminals and senior executives who used the Ashley Madison marital infidelity website which works under the slogan "Life is short. Have an affair".

After analysing the sample, researchers found that people with histories of misconduct were significant users of the Ashley Madison website.

The findings, published in the journal 'Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences', suggest a strong connection between people's actions in their personal and professional lives.

Thus, this study bolsters the idea that eliminating sexual misconduct may also reduce fraudulent activities in the workplace.

"Our results show that personal sexual conduct is correlated with professional conduct," said Kruger.

"Eliminating sexual misconduct in the workplace could have the extra benefit of contributing to more ethical corporate cultures in general," Kruger added.