The Run-Down: The board of World Wrestling Entertainment is investigating a $3 million settlement chief executive, Vince Mahon, reached this year with a former employee, with whom he had an alleged affair with 

1. The former employee, who was hired in 2019 as a paralegal, is under an NDA that bars her from discussing the incident
2. The Board’s preliminary findings have unearthed personal payments from Mahon totaling in millions
3. A spokesperson said as a part of this investigation, WWE’s compliance and human-resources programs and company culture will also be assessed

Why You Should Care:

It’s a tale as old as time – at least according to Mad Men. Time and time again, we hear about conflicts of interest causing irreparable harm to a business. Whether that be reputationally, legally, internally, or a combination of all three, once the damage is done it’s impossible to ignore.

Because we are all humans with connections both inside and outside of the workplace, lines can blur easier than most of us would like to admit. But, forming personal connections with those that you work with isn’t always a negative thing. In fact, we believe a person-first, human-centered business approach secures long-lasting success for organizations.

However, when a conflict appears to be at a level that goes beyond what is socially acceptable, it can affect everything from a business’s public-facing reputation to the employee’s environment, to the legal and financial standing of the company. This is why managing conflicts of interest at any level is critical. Conflicts of interest don’t have to be a bad thing – so long as they are addressed with robust policies and engaging trainings that allow the corporate culture to evolve into one that prioritizes respect, honesty, and fairness across the organization. 

WWE wouldn’t be in this position if their company culture did not allow for it to occur. As the spokesperson recalled, current compliance and human-resources measures were not conducive to creating a company culture that the organization was happy with.