Favoritism in the Workplace: How To Spot and Prevent It
Leaders who practice favoritism in the workplace have no chance to build a culture of trust.” – Robert Whipple. Allowing favoritism to influence decision-making creates an ambiguous environment. Merit and performance take a back seat, and employees are left struggling to navigate an unlevel playing field.
While developing personal preferences is natural human behavior, it shouldn’t be allowed to transform into practicing favoritism in the workplace. Nonetheless, this still happens. A workplace favoritism study revealed that 47% of American employees believed their supervisor had favorites.
Social dynamics at work are complex. Employees who form strong bonds often work better together. However, when relationships embolden favoritism, some employees will suffer. HR professionals who understand favoritism can strive to prevent it and fend off the resentment and tension it generates.
This article will take you through what favoritism in the workplace is, how it plays out, the negative effects it can have, and ways to keep it from permeating your organizational culture.
Contents
What is favoritism in the workplace?
Is favoritism in the workplace illegal?
Examples of favoritism in the workplace
Negative effects of favoritism in the workplace
4 solutions to discourage favoritism in the workplace
What is favoritism in the workplace?
Favoritism in the workplace happens when an employee receives preferential treatment over others based on a personal association and not their performance. In other words, an employee is granted privileges or spared consequences because of their connection with someone.
The bias behind favoritism can stem from an existing family relationship (nepotism) or an acquaintance/friendship (cronyism). We all gravitate toward people who are similar to us, are loyal to us, or have characteristics we admire. If these preferences are left unchecked, they can lead to favoring some individuals and alienating others.
Although forming bonds with others may increase employee satisfaction and engagement, it can also lead to overt or perceived favoritism and cliques in the workplace. Perceived favoritism’s impact can be as significant as blatant favoritism. Employees who believe they are victims of favoritism will feel just as undervalued as if they could confirm that they’d been treated unfairly.
Whether it’s unconscious or intentional, favoritism skews the work environment and puts some people at a disadvantage.
Is favoritism in the workplace illegal?
While misguided, favoritism in the workplace is typically not illegal. For example, if a manager favors a certain employee for special assignments because they participate in a shared hobby together — this is unethical but not illegal.
Favoritism in the workplace, while unethical, is typically not illegal. For example, if a manager gives special assignments to an employee because they share a hobby, this is favoritism but not against the law.
The US does not have favoritism in the workplace laws that address the issue specifically. However, employment regulations do exist that protect employees when favoritism progresses into prohibited behavior.
Favoritism becomes illegal when it leads to the following circumstances:
- Discriminating against employees for their protected characteristics, such as gender, race, age, disability, or religion
- Castigating employees for not tolerating verbal, physical, emotional, or sexual harassment
- Retaliating against employees for acts such as filing complaints or organizing a union drive
- Violating company policies or employment contract terms.
Is favoritism a form of discrimination?
Favoritism is an unfair practice. It elevates one person over others for unmerited reasons. Also, favoritism can be a form of discrimination in the legal sense.
Discrimination takes place when employment decisions and actions result in employees with legally protected characteristics being treated differently than others. When favoritism results in denying people with these traits equal opportunities, it leads to workplace discrimination.
Let’s say a manager overlooks a qualified female employee for advancement and instead promotes his less experienced male friend. This is an example of a potential favoritism in the workplace lawsuit based on gender discrimination.
4 examples of favoritism in the workplace
Favoritism at work can be overt or subtle, taking on a variety of forms. Even so, there are some common ways favoritism plays out, such as the following:
Example 1. Unjustified or unbalanced promotions, raises, and opportunities
Managers or decision-makers who fall into the favoritism trap will prioritize certain employees for rewards and opportunities over other deserving employees.
- Assigning project leadership or high-profile meeting attendance based on a personal relationship rather than merit
- Promoting favored employees over more qualified internal applicants
- Unjustified distribution of raises, bonuses, or benefits
- Providing mentorship or other professional development opportunities only to favored employees, despite expressed interest from others
- Consistently granting only favored employees their preferred shifts, days off, or chances for overtime earnings.
Example 2. Unfair distribution of tasks
Favoritism may lead to work distribution that can’t be rationalized by employees’ abilities or the position they hold.
- Giving preferred employees sought-after tasks beyond the scope of their role
- Assigning employees without favored status menial tasks beneath their skill level
- Burdening unfavored employees with heavier workloads
- Accommodating only a select few employees’ requests for flexible work options when there is no real business reason not to.
Example 3. Double standards for performance and behavior
When employees are held to inconsistent standards regarding their performance or behavior, it’s a sure sign of favoritism.
- Tolerating office gossip about certain employees
- Excusing missed deadlines of favored employees and enforcing them on others
- Reprimanding the misconduct of some but ignoring it in others
- Acknowledging the subpar performance of favored individuals while higher quality work goes unnoticed
- Routinely giving public praise to only particular employees
- Singling out a particular employee(s) to take the blame for others or team mistakes.
Example 4. Social circles and exclusivity
Exclusive groups formed from workplace social connections often suggest the presence of favoritism.
- Decision-makers and employees socializing outside of work
- Managers devoting an unwarrantable amount of time or attention to specific employees during work hours
- Employee friendships that turn into cliques
- Romantic relationships between colleagues or a manager and subordinate.
When duos or small groups form and become too internally focused, they can fuel workplace favoritism such as:
- Biased decision-making according to the preferences of the inner circle
- Selective communication, which gives privileged access to some and leaves others out of the loop on critical information
- Subjective perspective in accepting new ideas or mediating workplace conflict based on personal alliances.
Negative effects of favoritism in the workplace
Once favoritism takes hold and people feel left behind, other problems are spurred throughout an organization.
Let’s look at four consequences of favoritism at work:
Toxic work environment
A work environment becomes toxic when negative behaviors are allowed to seep in and become the norm, resulting in heightened emotional strain for employees.
Favoritism can contribute to a toxic work environment because it fosters a contentious atmosphere characterized by resentment and unhealthy competition among employees. The goal becomes making the right connections instead of producing quality work that contributes to the company’s success.
Additionally, some employees will feel obliged to take on an excessive workload just to get noticed. When overlooked, employees don’t know where they stand in an unpredictable or impenetrable hierarchy; stress and burnout are likely outcomes.
Favoritism also completely undermines an organization’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. You can’t create a cohesive, accepting workplace when it’s obvious that certain employees receive advantages that others aren’t afforded. Claiming to be inclusive while allowing favoritism to flourish turns DEIB efforts into merely an illusion.
Increased employee turnover
Favoritism disconnects talented employees from their organization when they believe they are undervalued and don’t have fair opportunities. An academic study published by MDPI in 2022 validated that favoritism is a work stressor that negatively impacts the employees’ perception of the organization.
This can motivate a search for new employment elsewhere where they believe their efforts will be more appropriately recognized and rewarded.
Erosion of trust and respect for leadership
Trust is crucial in building any mutually beneficial relationship. The injustice of favoritism can impede the trustworthiness of company leadership and make employees lose respect for them. When leaders visibly favor certain employees, the remaining employees will doubt their impartiality and judgment.
Once employees begin to question whether their leaders will make fair decisions and manage effectively, lower morale, negative dialogue, and a collapse in teamwork can permeate the workplace.
Decreased productivity
If employees are granted promotions or projects based on their favored status and not their skills, they may only be capable of mediocre output.
Additionally, preferential treatment for some creates divisions within teams and affects motivation. Assuming that your efforts will not necessarily be recognized or rewarded depletes any enthusiasm for attempting hard work.
Employees who feel excluded may withdraw, stop contributing their ideas, and hesitate to collaborate with team members. One study that performed a series of experiments with games showed that favoritism in choosing players reduced cooperation among participants.
Any breakdown in team harmony and communication hinders the flow of information and stifles innovation needed for productivity and achieving business goals.
4 solutions to discourage favoritism in the workplace
Workplace relationships will inevitably occur in every organization, but they can’t be allowed to breed favoritism. A proactive approach to favoritism will foster awareness and transparency.
Here are four actions that will help you combat favoritism in the workplace:
1. Establish clear policies
Every organization needs guardrails to protect against systemic favoritism. It’s crucial to establish policies that explicitly address workplace nepotism and favoritism. Furthermore, they must be consistently enforced.
The policies should outline the following:
- What constitutes nepotism and favoritism in the workplace
- Guidelines for hiring friends and family members of current employees
- Disciplinary actions for practicing favoritism
- Process for reporting favoritism.
Ensure these guidelines are communicated and accessible to all employees.
2. Provide leadership training
All levels of leadership should be educated on favoritism. They should fully understand what it is, recognize their tendencies toward it, and be equipped to avoid it and set a good example.
Offer training that covers topics such as:
- Negative impact of favoritism on team dynamics
- Awareness of personal preferences that generate self-serving biases
- Unbiased decision-making
- Fostering a cohesive team
- Effective communication of the reasoning behind decisions
- Setting firm boundaries for workplace relationships.
HR tip
Encourage regular training for managers on impartiality and inclusivity. These sessions should highlight the importance of equitable treatment and provide practical tools for recognizing and avoiding biased decision-making.
3. Promote a merit-based system
Establish a structure that ensures all employment decisions are based on qualifications, contribution, and performance. By including objective criteria and standardized processes, you can minimize subjective judgments. This system should apply to hiring, compensation, promotions, recognition, and assignments.
Ensure managers set clear expectations and offer employees frequent feedback. Performance reviews should be based on consistent standards and conducted regularly for all employees. Require managers to quantify their decisions on raises and bonuses with impartial data.
4. Investigate favoritism complaints thoroughly
An open channel for reporting favoritism must be in place and acted on. Take every complaint of nepotism and favoritism seriously and investigate them promptly, thoroughly, and objectively. Gather and examine all the facts to determine if favoritism policies were violated.
Employees need to know that the reporting process offers a safe mechanism for addressing their claims. Ensure the procedures remain completely confidential and that all parties are treated with respect and discretion.
Key takeaway
People who work together need to build connections with each other. Then again, these relationships must remain professional and not become exclusive alliances that keep others from the prospects and treatment they deserve.
It’s essential to face and address favoritism with awareness, clear policies, a fair employment decision system, and a safe reporting process. This will help prevent both perceived and actual favoritism and inspire a culture of fairness and equal opportunity.
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