alt Hacker NewsSo to preface, I do not condone adultery / office affairs, etc.
But in the big picture, isn't it crazy that a relationship between two consenting adults is a bigger deal, and of larger impact to the economy, than an action that is supposedly unlawful and threatened national security?
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> isn't it crazy that a relationship between two consenting adults is a bigger deal, and of larger impact to the economy, than an action that is supposedly unlawful and threatened national security?
In the current state of consent, a subordinate cannot give free consent.
All of them are big deals, but being deceived by a spy isn't the same as choosing to break an important rule.
We established 28 years ago that it's not considered a big deal. The real story is somewhere else.
First, his actions were alleged to have impact on national security, but that is not for sure. It is for sure that he was acting inappropriately as a boss, though. Second, I suspect that it is both events which led to his firing. If the affair with the subordinate had come out first, and then the affair with the alleged spy, I suspect he still would've been given grace for the first but not the second event.
Nobody cares about the sex, it's about the abuse of power.
It's about lying. The proper procedure is to disclose consenting relationships with a subordinate so that HR and the board is aware of conflicts of interest
If an exec is lying about this, what else might they be lying about? Embezzlement? Corruption?
It's not the affair, exactly. It's that he violated HR policy (which incidentally was by way of having that affair).
It's against pretty much every company policy to have a relationship with someone who reports to you.
All 42,000 employees should be held to the same standard, otherwise you will end up with all kinds of problems within the company.
Company leadership should lead by example as well.