Workplace infidelity is often an elephant in the room for many corporate environments. Still, one millionaire CEO from Arizona took the bull by the horns and laid out a stern resolution for anyone caught cheating in her workplace: termination. The CEO’s opinion and policies about workplace integrity and relationships have since sparked a widespread online debate.
Natalie Dawson, 31, is the polarizing CEO in question, and she’s a co-founder of Cardone Ventures, which is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. For Dawson, business is booming, which is why she got invited to an interview online with The Diary Of A CEO podcast. In the interview, she famously claimed the following, “One of the things I’ve gotten so much criticism of online was firing somebody because I found out she was cheating on her significant other.” Here’s a clip of the interview.
Apparently, both employees were under her team, and they had an affair while both of them also had committed relationships outside of work. According to Dawson, “Even if it was [not at work], I would fire the person immediately,” mainly because “If they’re going to cheat on the person they’re supposed to spend the rest of their life with, do you think that they’re cheating on their work? That person is a liability to the environment.”
Dawson’s logic is that a person’s personal life is also who they are at work, and she can’t trust people who have messy relationships. While Steven, the podcaster who interviewed Dawson, seemed shocked at the CEO’s workplace philosophy, many others have praised the woman for imposing strict moral grounds in her company.
She incited a legal, moral, and ethical debate
Of course, not everyone who heard of Dawson’s opinion on workplace affairs agrees with her. Apart from the podcaster who interviewed her, some viewers thought her philosophy and policies were somewhat invasive. One even asked, “Is that legal?” and apparently, it is in the US, though other places might require contracts.
Hence, many people online agreed with Steven that it’s not the CEO’s business to fire people based on their romantic ties, “It’s none of my business so far it doesn’t affect the work,” argues a commenter. “Half of the companies would be left with no workers if every CEO would do this,” suggested an Instagram user, alluding to how workplace affairs are common.
With that said, workplace relationship affairs are a tale as old as time, and for some people, they can ruin families. This is why Dawson doing something about it has been a breath of fresh air for many. “I LOOOVEEE someone who takes infidelity seriously,” commends a TikTok user, with others being reminded of the recent Coldplay Kiss Cam scandal involving a CEO cheating with his HR Head.
