The damages of favoritism in the workplace go beyond employees harboring resentment and can reverberate throughout an organization, the Merit Systems Protection Board has said in recommending that managers and supervisors try to avoid favoring certain employees for other than the most professional of reasons.
About half of all respondents to the 2011 merit principles survey reported that favoritism is a problem in their organizations, and correspondingly, those employees were less likely to be satisfied with their supervisors and how they are treated at work.
The damage can affect performance, teamwork, recruitment and retention, and EEO complaints, MSPB noted.
It said employees may express their displeasure with an unfair situation by not exerting their best efforts, and that elevating a less qualified employee into a supervisory role could wreak havoc on interpersonal relationships within a work unit.
Employees who believe that favoritism is a problem in their organization are more likely to report intentions to leave the agency, and also most likely to seek a position change, MSPB noted.
