Nepotism and Favoritism in the Corporate World
By: Taylor Zdanowski, Zach Osburn, Kameron Goodwill, & Quan Zheng
Intro:
The word “nepotism” comes from the Latin word nepotus, meaning nephew or grandson. This means an excessive attachment to a relationship. In the workplace, when a person, or a group of people, seems to be treated better than others, and not necessarily because of job performance, it’s called nepotism or favoritism. In today’s era, these have become sensitive topics, and result in a decrease of employee commitment level. Employees become so dissatisfied with their company that they finally decide to quit their jobs (Basu, 2009).
Throughout this blog post, we will discuss how nepotism and favoritism affect a corporate working environment. We will also be tying these topics back into the content we have learned in class. For example, connecting some of the 7 C’s from the Social Change Model like: consciousness of self, collaboration, and congruence. We will also be incorporating concepts from Is Everyone Really Equal? like: power, oppression, and privilege. Lastly, solutions will be provided to help solve or lessen the effects of nepotism and favoritism.
Connection 1:
Nepotism and favoritism are often viewed negatively in the U.S. and other western cultures. Favoritism and nepotism can lead to low company morale, business damage, and resentful feelings (Sun, 2017). For many corporate leaders that fall suspect to nepotism or favoritism typically have a breakdown within The Social Change Model. Collaboration is often the first thing to go, when a boss or a corporate leader chooses a favorite or hires a relative. Many times, the boss will tend to turn towards their favorite employee or their newly hired family member to talk about business topics, cutting off contact and collaboration from their other employees. When this happens, employees tend to feel discouraged and begin to think hard work doesn’t necessarily lead to success (Lucas, 2018).
Another component that could potentially go awry when involved in favoritism or nepotism is not only the leader’s consciousness of self but also the employee’s being favorited as well. Often corporate leaders do not realize they are treating a certain employee more favorably than the others (Sun, 2017). Both the employee and the leader need to be more self-aware and notice that the treatment they are giving and receiving isn’t fair to others. When individuals are being favored others usually question whether these individuals really do have the qualifications needed to obtain the position they are in. Employees that are being favored lose their sense of congruence to what they really think and tend to agree with whatever their boss is saying (Lucas, 2018). It is important to voice your true opinions when it comes to business because your opinion could be proved to be valuable.
Connection 2:
Nepotism and favoritism are seen as negative in today’s society, especially to individuals that are not the favorite of a leader. Congruence is defined as being in agreement and harmony with everyone (Cerra, 2015). Congruence can go along with favoritism in a way that is helpful for teams. One might ask; how? This is seen in a lot of sports where teams have what is usually referred to as “role players”. The role players are not nearly as skilled as the first string athletes, and they play a lot less than the more skilled players, or the coaches favorites, on the team. For the team to be successful, it needs these role players to do the things that the skilled players cannot.
This is where consciousness of self comes in handy, because these players know what they have to do in order to get the job done and for the team to be successful. Sure they will never be the heroes of the team or get the fame and attraction that the more skilled guys do, but the team needs them to push the other guys and provide a standard work ethic. Even though these players mentioned are not the favorites, the team can find congruence if everyone knows their role, understands their consciousness of self, and everyone does their part for the teams best interest.
Potential Solutions:
The first step to dealing with any problem is to recognize if there is a problem at all. There may be cases of a person that is either related to the corporate leader or is just favorited by them, but in some cases, the person receiving the “special treatment” may have qualifications or experiences that speak to the special treatment they are recieving (Sun, 2017). In some industries, having strong relationships is important, but most work relationships only go far if the person in charge knows that the other person is capable of doing their work. Employees that are excelling within their positions should be given good opportunities.
If there is an actual problem of nepotism or favoritism in your workplace, there are potential solutions to deal with it. Be professional and do your part to showcase your talents (Smith, 2013). Do not let distractions hinder your productivity, as deciding to not carry your weight could hurt your reputation with fellow co-workers. Letting a situation of someone receiving unfair treatment affect your work will hurt you and those that work around you. When communicating with a superior about the situation, be respectful, but also be honest about your feelings and make sure they understand what you and others around you think about the situation.
It is also important to recognize if you or someone that you know is benefiting from nepotism or favoritism. It can be hard to admit when you are benefitting from favoritism or nepotism, because we all like to believe that we are in our positions because of our own work. However, being aware if jobs or opportunities are unfairly given to you is just as important as pointing out that someone is getting those opportunities unfairly. Feeding into any over-the-top friendships will make it difficult for you to get cooperation from the people you most need it from: your peers (Smith, 2013). Communicating with others and being transparent in your role can help relieve tension, and being honest with your boss about how this behavior is affecting others can also help.
Conclusion:
Sadly, nepotism and favoritism is a part of the corporate world and is unfortunately a problem some individuals have to deal with. Nepotism and favoritism are forms of inequality and should be dealt with as so. Although there are potential solutions and ways to cope with nepotism and favoritism, these issues should eventually be erased from the corporate world for good.
References:
Basu, S. (2009, May 23). Work Place Nepotism and Stress. Retrieved March 27, 2019, from https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1409089
Cerra, M. (2015, April 16). Being a Team and Knowing Your Roles Are the Keys to Success. Retrieved March 31, 2019, from http://mikecerra.com/being-a-team-and-knowing-your-roles-are-the-keys-to-success/
Lucas, S. (2018, April 8). Is Displaying Favoritism to Certain Employees in the Workplace Illegal? Retrieved March 26, 2019, from https://www.thebalancecareers.com/is-displaying-favoritism-in-the-workplace-illegal-4159736
Smith, J. (2013, October 25). How To Deal With Favoritism At Work. Retrieved March 31, 2019, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/10/25/how-to-deal-with-favoritism-at-work/#68a225902a8c
Sun, C. (2017, October 06). 5 Simple Ways to Handle Nepotism in the Workplace. Retrieved from https://www.entrepreneur.com/slideshow/302245
