Favoritism in the workplace and its Effect On the

Organization

Often time management falls into trap by doing favor to a certain person or certain group and
ignoring other group without necessarily being aware of its consequence. Such management
behavior is common everywhere in any organization. Everywhere favoritism, nepotism can be
found and in an organization such preferential group does exist. Often time they call it circle of
influence. They are called circle of influence because those persons who are treated special and
considered closed to the top management can also influence the management's decision and other
people's behavior. Because of their closeness to the top and their influence to the
management, other people call this group the untouchable". They are called untouchable
because of their closeness and influence to the top management. Other group has to be careful
dealing with such group because it can cause their employment. Unfortunately often time, the
management is undermining of its consequence to the other employees and the organization.
Undeniably such preference creates jealousy and may lead to conflict. Not only causing conflict,
it may affect the performance of other employees and the performance of the organization. In
this simple article we will explain different kind of favoritism, the effect favoritism and how to
handle favoritism.
Favoritism in the workplace
Favoritism in the workplace refers to a practice in which a person is treated differently better
than others, not necessarily because the person has the qualification in terms of skill
requirements but sometimes other aspects that are not related to job performance. The
management is giving preferential treatment to one or more employees. Sometimes
such preferential treatment can be intentional; for example, an employer could assign the
choicest responsibilities to the most veteran worker or hotshot upstart by explaining that his
abilities justify the extra attention and tasks. Preferential treatment can also be subconscious; for
example, employees might notice that an older male supervisor seems to treat young female
workers with friendly smiles and encouragement while benignly ignoring male workers in the
hallways even though they are performing good job. Problems happen when attention and
appreciation or recognition is not given equally to all employees. It is worst when the recognition
is given to those who are not deserved.

Definitely favoritism in the workplace is counter-productive and, in some cases, unethical and
illegal. When management assigns responsibility or gives promotions based on favoritism, not
based on the performance, the company will not be able to attract the most qualified person for a
job. It discourages excellent performance and encouraged mediocrity. Hard work is not
recognized but laziness. Promotion is not based on the merit but based on certain favors. Such
practices, soon or later, can damage the company. Favoritism compromises performance and
quality. Promotion is given to the one who has offered sexual services to the boss, while those
who are deserved are ignored. Soliciting sexual favors for job advancement, is clearly immoral,
not only illegal. Soliciting gift from certain group or individuals and in return for promotion is
immoral. Giving promotion to the whites but not to the blacks is clearly discrimination. There
are many kind of practices that indicate the existence of favoritism in the workplace. Thus,
employees should be vigilant to those practices and prevent it from getting rooted in the
organization. Those who are responsible for the top management, should be familiar with the
types of favoritism that are being practiced, so that the company can develop effective policies to
combat them. Eradicating favoritism is not difficult if the management has determination to
clean the organization from immoral activities and has a political will to exempt no one whether
it is a family or friends.

Favoritism is considered discrimination and discrimination is illegal and immoral.

Discrimination happens when employers make job decisions based on employees' protected
characteristics -- traits that state, governments have decided should not be the basis of
employment actions. Under employment laws or labor laws, for example, it's illegal for
employers not to hire someone because of his race, to refuse to promote women, to relegate
employees with disabilities to low-paying positions, or to lay off employees based on age. If
workplace favoritism is based on protected characteristics, then it is illegal discrimination. For
example, if a manager promotes only men or gives the best assignments and shifts to employees
who share his religious beliefs, that would be discrimination.

Favoritism is a poison to employee morale. It creates terrible feelings toward the management
and towards the employees who are treated special. Hatred can cause not only sickness but also
the mood of employees in carrying out their duties and responsibilities every day. Certainly such
emotional condition affects the performance of their duties. Thus favoritism does not benefit
anyone in the organization but it destroys everything. Employees might be professional, qualified
and experienced, but theyre still human and still susceptible to emotions better left outside the
workplace. Jealousy, anger, fear, sullenness and worry can occur in business environments at any
time, but these negative emotions are exacerbated when favoritism takes place. Therefore
management should be careful in playing favoritism. Before indulging in workplace favoritism,
consider how your actions might affect other workers.

Employee Favoritism and Nepotism is considered employees morale Cancer (Chris Young,
2008). It is considered cancer because it causes the sickness of the workplace environment and
finally seriously erodes the competitive position of a company or at worst - literally destroys the
potential of companies. The cure of cancer can only happen only if the root of the cancer is
removed totally.
Different Kind of favoritism in the Workplace

George N. Root (2014) identified several kind of favoritism in the workplace and these are
nepotism, cronyism, sexual favors and patronage. He explained that nepotism is the practice of
hiring family members regardless of their qualifications. In some cases, a relative of a company
executive may be qualified to perform the job for which she is hired. The fact that she is an
executive's relative gives her an advantage over the other applicants. According to him, hiring
should always be based on the qualification and the need of the particular job. In this case, even
though the person or the newly hired employee is related to the executive but if her/his
qualification is very much needed, then nepotism can enhance the companys performance.
However if the hiring is just because of family relationship and ignoring the qualifications, then
nepotism can cause the decline of the company.

Cronyism is the other side of nepotism. It is the act of hiring friends regardless of qualifications.
One of the main problems with cronyism is the feeling of entitlement that employees hired under
these circumstances feel. Because of their close relationship to the top executive, they feel they
deserve raises and promotions that should be reserved for more qualified staff members. Besides
feeling of entitlement, these groups feel powerful and can influence other people in the
organization and top executive. These groups are feared by other group and may create conflict
in the workplace and can result in losing qualified personnel.
Favoritism may be caused by sexual favor. Sexual favor forces the executive to prioritize the
person for career advancement even though the person is not qualified for the promotion. The
person who is favored may claim anything she wants and the executive has no choice to grant
her request. Such treatment can cause discrimination against other employees. The employees
who are denied promotions and raises in lieu of sexual favors being exchanged between a
manager and employee can claim that they were discriminated against. Companies should
discourage inter-office relationships, and should consider a policy that makes relationships
between managers and subordinates grounds for termination.

Other form of favoritism is patronage. Patronage becomes a practice in which an executive or

manager engage in nepotism or cronyism. An executive promotes employees he trusts into
positions of management, and then asks those managers to hire their friends and family
members. This kind of favoritism has the potential to spread throughout the company as the
executive brings more of her favorite employees into positions of authority.
To add to the list offered by George N. Root, Christ Young (2008) based on his experience
working with certain company offers several form of favoritism and nepotism: relative
nepotism, friend nepotism, connection nepotism, contribution nepotism, referral nepotism, they
were with us through thick and thin" nepotism, "credential nepotism.

Relative nepotism is a common practice everywhere to hire, save, prioritize and promote the
relative first before anyone else. While friend nepotism is a management behavior that is giving
special attention to friends. They are considered inner circle of influence to the management
and they are the priority of the management. Connection nepotism is a practice to give a special
treatment to persons who have connection with the management, be it political connection,
sports activity/hobby connection, and many others. It may seem to be unimportant but often time
such connection influences management for special treatment. Contribution nepotism refers to
the practice in which management gives a special treatment to persons who have contributed
something to the achievement of the management. While this practice may not be totally bad but
it should always consider the total whole. The performance of the management is a contribution
of all people working for the organization because all works are interrelated. Thus evaluation to
the level of contribution must be done to determine how much each one has contributed to the
organization. Referral nepotism is a practice in which a management is asking top performer if
he/she knows someone to fill up the position. This may be considered a ordinary recruitment
strategy but there is a tendency of management to prioritize more on these persons than to others.
They were with us through thick and thin" nepotism This form of nepotism is particularly
perverse. A team member who has been with the company since it started 15 years ago can
wreak a lot of havoc if they are poor performers. The havoc comes from new performers who
realize the "lifer" is "special" and is not being held to the same employee accountability standard
that they are. The next question new hires has is, "Why am I not special." The downward spiral
begins - employee morale goes into the tank. Lastly credential nepotism is This form of nepotism
is often hidden but dangerous. Ever seen someone get more credit than they deserve because
they have a certification? I have. When people are given more credit because they attended a
class and passed it but cannot apply what they learned - we call that "Credential Nepotism.

All of the above forms of nepotism result in a hideous employee morale killer called
"favoritism. These form of favoritism cause the life of the organization to danger. Therefore,
such favoritism must be avoided at all cost.

The Effect of Favoritism

Favoritism is considered negative because of its effect not only to the organization but also to the
other employees. The following are considered to be the effect of favoritism in the workplace.
1. Decline company performance

When the employees are hired because of family relationship, friendship and not because
of certain skill qualifications and then not being able to perform the job, then nepotism becomes
counter-productive. And if the executive staff begins hiring family members because they need
jobs, not because of their qualifications and ability, and then such practices can affect the
company's profitability or performance. Therefore, the top management should consider skill
qualifications in hiring and not favoritism.
2. Resentment and demoralization.

Favoritism is not going to rest well with other employees. One of the primary effects of
workplace favoritism on employees is resentment. Workers feel that, no matter how hard they
work, it wont matter because preferred employees will always get better benefits, more attention
and greater opportunities. Such situation can demotivate other employees to do their job to the
best they can. They feel not recognized and appreciated. They feel bad and discouraged. Not
only that, employees often resent the special worker, treating her with unkindness and gossiping
about reasons for preferential treatment. Workers also resent their employer, becoming less
willing to participate actively in the company mission. If employees feel that theyre being
passed over for new responsibilities or promotions because all goodies are funneled toward
favorite workers, lower motivation results. Employees slack off, taking less care with assigned
duties and being more reluctant to volunteer for additional tasks. This results in lower
productivity, missed deadlines and lower overall morale.
3. Organizational Conflict
When employees perceive the favoritism to be widespread, such situation may lead to
organizational conflict. It would not only be conflict between other employees and favored
employees but also with the executive or management and employees. If such situation happens,
then working environment becoming not conducive for other people to work. The situation
may lead to some employees take legal action against employers who engage in egregious
favoritism, citing preferential treatment based on gender or ethnicity. If workplace favoritism is
widespread, for example, an employer offers preferential treatment to workers based on sexual
favors, employees could cite a hostile work environment. This can lead to serious repercussions,
including court fees, restitution awards and loss of professional reputation.

Avoiding favoritism
As we see the effect of favoritism, it is obvious that favoritism does not bring any good to the
organization. Therefore, there is no way of perpetuating it but it should be stopped by all
means. Displays of favoritism, or even its perception, can destroy relationships, initiative and
trust. We must always be alert to its presence and suppress it. Therefore we should always avoid
promoting favoritism by all means such as spending extra time with preferred workers,
overlooking mistakes made by favorite employees and assigning perks to employees because you
like them. If youre an employee working in an environment where a boss is practicing
favoritism, double-check your impressions by looking for specific examples of preferred
treatment. Once youve confirmed that this is a problem in your workplace, visit the personnel
department with your examples. Explaining the situation in a concise, professional way gives
you more credibility; be careful not to make rash accusations.
It is recommended that the organization should introduce or establish a policy prohibiting
favoritism in the workplace. The organization should specify practices that are considered
favoritism and indicate punishment related to favoritism practices.

Handling Favoritism at Work

The question here is how we react to favoritism in the workplace. Since favoritism is committed
by the executive, this question is addressed to the employees. How do co-employees handle
favoritism? How do you keep your career humming along while you're stuck in the shadow of
the boss's pet? Eileen P. Gunn (2008) gives some tips how to handle the favoritism as he cited
from Birkel (2008). It would be nice to follow those advises.
1. Don't try to shoot down the favorite, no matter how tempting it might be to correct him in
meetings or point out to the boss when he's way under qualified for that project you wanted,
Birkel advises. At best, you're picking on the boss's buddy; at worst, you're questioning the boss's
judgment about people. Neither one is going to gain you any ground.
2. Sit down with that boss as soon as possible and agree to a clear job description for you,
Birkel says. To make the boss's job easier, have one at the ready for him or her to give feedback
on.
3. Agree on some goals for you to accomplish over the next quarter or six months or year (or a
combination of time frames). Make sure at least a few of them can be measured objectively
hitting sales or profit or cost-cutting targets, landing certain clients, or getting trained in
particular new skills.
Hitting these goals gives you material you can use should you need to campaign for a promotion,
project, or raise you want that you believe the boss is inclined to hand to one of the in-crowd. It
also gives you the means with which to defend yourself should one of the inner circles try to
undermine you someday (if, say, he really wants that same promotion, project, or raise).
4. Find a champion who's at the same or higher level than your fickle manager and who can talk
you up and suggest you for that plum assignment or title you want. If other people in the
organization think highly of you, then it makes your boss look good to put you to good use in a
visible way.
5. Get involved in the company beyond your immediate group by joining corporate committees
or employee groups or lending your experience to colleagues in other departments when they ask
for it. This will help you find that champion you need, boost your credibility beyond your boss's
purview, and maybe lead to new opportunities with a better boss.
6. Buddy up to the boss where you can (taking care to keep your self-respect in the process). If
you're at all interested in his or her favorite sport or hobby, give it a try so that you have
something other than work to talk about when you find yourself sharing an elevator with the
boss.
And when that boss does occasionally extend an invitation to lunch or drinks or Saturday golf to
colleagues beyond a little clique, by all means, go! It's an opportunity to help the boss get to
know you and see possibilities beyond the usual safe fallback people
Of course, despite your best efforts, your career progress could slow down or flat-out stall during
this manager's tenure. If you can't live with that, even for a short spell, then polish up your
rsum and start looking for a new job, inside your company or elsewhere.
But if you do decide to sit tight and bide your time, take it to heart. "It's not a question of if but
when that manager will be moved along or pushed out in the next reshuffling," Birkel says.
"Then those favorites are back on equal footing with everyone else." If they can't settle in and
thrive on their merits, they'll either follow their benefactor yet again or move on in some other
way.
Favoritism is an Ethical Issue/Moral Issue.
Favoritism is a moral issue. It is a moral issue because it violates basic moral standards which are
justice and fairness. Moral standards dictate to do justice and to be fair to all. Definitely
favoritism violates such principles. Aristotle argued that equals should be treated equally and
unequals unequally. In relation to employment practices, it tells us that employees who possess
the same qualification and perform the same or similar responsibilities should be treated the
same. Favoritism, cronyism, and nepotism all interfere with fairness because they give undue
advantage to someone who does not necessarily merit this treatment (Judy Nadler and Miriam
Schulman, 2006).
Favoritism, cronyism, and nepotism also undermine the common good. Under utilitarian ethics,
the rule is that you can act only the act that promotes happiness of the greater majority or the
common good. The message of individual sacrifice is emphasized. Each person should promote
only those act that will contribute to common good but not to individual interest. The practice of
favoritism is against such principle. When someone is granted a position because of connections
rather than because he or she has the best credentials and experience, is considered individual
preferential treatment which will lead to the disadvantage of the organization or common good.
Conclusion

Favoritism is a preferential treatment to a certain employees or groups of employees. Such

definition is a clear indication of discrimination. It destroys the moral and motivation of
employees to work. Definitely favoritism is bad and immoral. The effect of favoritism is
devastating, not only to the life of individual employees but to the life of the organization. It
loses its competitiveness power against other competitors and it will lead to its bankruptcy. Thus
it must be avoided by all cost.
The dangers of playing favorites at work

In any organization, it is important to reward high-performing employees

in order to motivate and retain your talent. However, companies need to be
careful when allocating monetary and other rewards to avoid playing
favorites with select employees. An organizations reward structure must
adhere to a transparent framework that managers practice and employees
understand. Without this structure, favoritism can begin to take root in the
workplace, which negatively impacts a companys culture and its bottom
line.

So what does favoritism look like? In its most blatant forms, favoritism can
manifest in the unfair bestowing of promotions or bonuses . However, it is
equally important to watch out for more subtle indications of favoritism
that can be just as frustrating to employees and detrimental to company
culture. For example, these can include a manager looking the other way
when someone doesnt follow the dress code or leaves an hour earlier than
the rest of the team. Managers who have fallen into the trap of favoritism
may also overlook or excuse lesser quality of work or spend personal time
with select employees, while excluding others. Although these may seem
like small issues from the perspective of the manager, they are not viewed
that way by employees.

Additionally, some industries have a reputation for an overall culture of

favoritism, whether by gender, ethnicity, or educational background.
Multiple organizations across industries have come under fire for this
problem, and companies that allow this type of favoritism to impact both
hiring and the promotion of individuals are setting themselves up for
negative consequences.

Blatant favoritism of one star employee can lower the morale of all other
employees, as other good employees will likely be aware that their peer is
enjoying extra perks while their own hard work goes unnoticed and
unrewarded. As a result, these performers might feel neglected and
unmotivated. At extremes, favoritism can lead to lawsuits, which in
addition to having severe financial consequences, may have a lasting effect
on a companys hiring efforts and reputation in both the specific industry
and the public eye.

All companies have an array of staff members who can be categorized as A,

B, and C employees. While A employees are the ones that stand out as top
performers, B employees produce strong work and C employees are
building the skills they need to move into higher positions. For some
managers, it may seem obvious to reward A employees, but its important
to not overlook the others, as a company needs the support of all As, Bs,
and Cs to be successful.

In the end, you want your B and C employees to aspire to be As, so when
they see that their A counterparts are being fairly rewarded for their
outstanding work, this can serve as a positive incentive. However, if
employees sense a culture of favoritism, this may discourage professional
development. Displays of favoritism can dissuade B and C performers from
wanting to build their own skills and reach their potential, as they may not
be convinced that their efforts will pay off equally. It is important for an
employer to think critically about which of their employees are As, Bs, and
Cs, and from there, the employer must acknowledge the strengths of the A
employees and help the B and C employees develop their skills. If all
employees feel that the company is helping them to grow, regardless of
their tenure or position with the company, they are more likely to feel
appropriately challenged and loyal.

While all companies are susceptible to developing a culture of favoritism,

certain situational factors can make companies more prone to this misstep.
During rougher economic conditions, for example, companies feel the need
to maintain top talent more than ever and can leverage favoritism in the
hopes that it will help them keep star employees. However, it is imperative
that companies avoid this trap. The size of the company also plays a role in
how severe the effects of favoritism can be. For instance, smaller
companies have the same risk of falling into a culture of favoritism as
larger companies, but with magnified consequences. A major impact of
favoritism is high turnover rates, and smaller companies often struggle
more with the loss of employees. While, a large company may have an
easier time covering three exits, a company of fifteen people may be
severely burdened by losing the same number.

To avoid playing favorites, it is essential to ensure that rewards for

employees are tied to performance. One way to avoid this is to establish a
set base salary for all employees of a certain position. Anything more
should be given out of merit on a case-by-case basis and the same
standards should be set for all. Year-end and spot bonuses, when given
fairly, can be good incentives to reward strong employees while avoiding
favoritism. While promotions, raises and bonuses can seem like the most
obvious ways to favor an employee, these practices are good for a company
if they are deserved and if there is a guarantee of transparency and even
standards.
Overall, being aware of the pitfalls of favoritism and developing a strategy
to fairly reward strong employees can ensure the retention of these
employees, while keeping motivation and office morale high.