The Hidden Costs of Favoritism: Examining Its Ripple Effects on Employees and HR Practices

Favoritism remains a historic issue which affects businesses of all kinds operating in different parts of the world with no regard for organization structure. Organizations experience three major consequences from the practice of favoritism because it disrupts employee morale and destroys team cohesion while causing reduced performance outcomes.  

Understanding Favoritism in the Workplace

People are socialized to relate to each other on the basis of race, class, and religion. As a result a boss may unconsciously, or consciously, distance employees who don’t have the same skin color, social class or religion (Butterman, 2007).Preferential treatment goes exclusively to particular workers regardless of performance, standards or skill levels in cases in the workplace. 

Figure 01:https://www.aihr.com/wp-content/uploads/Can-You-Spot-Favoritism-in-the-Workplace.pngg

Impact on Employees

Whenever favoritism enters the workplace it disturbs the balanced workplace connections and produces significant changes in employee conduct.

1. Demoralization and Disengagement

Staff members who detect favoritism in work force frequently experience negative feelings of disregard which eventually turn into reduced motivation. Low employee engagement becomes a major problem when favoritism occurs since it reduces productivity and creativity.72% of workers say favoritism negatively impacts their job satisfaction(SHRM 2023).

2. Erosion of Trust

Workplace trust fundamentally depends on the principle of fairness. Trust between employees and leadership disintegrates when favoritism emerges which causes them to doubt both leadership authenticity and organizational moral values. Untrusting relationships between colleagues create feelings of anger which transform into toxic workplace dynamics. A survey found that 65% of employees distrust leadership when favoritism is evident(Gallup 2023).

3. Increased Turnover

Staff members who experience low motivation and unhappiness tend to look for jobs elsewhere. Excessive employee turnover creates numerous challenges for team stability that adds additional costs to hiring and damages the company's professional image to potential candidates.

4. Diminished Collaboration

Team members who feel excluded by favored colleagues develop stronger differences between them thus making it difficult to establish collaborative teamwork. Staff members avoid sharing concepts and refuse to cooperate with those colleagues whom management favors.

5. Mental and Emotional Strain

Employee mental health tends to deteriorate when they feel left out of the group. Those who lack fair treatment in work environments develop anxiety together with stress and burnout largely due to their efforts to establish their value in such settings.

Impact on Human Resource Management (HRM)

HR professionals are tasked with fostering a culture of equality and inclusion. Favoritism presents unique challenges for HRM, including:

• Conflict Resolution Challenges
• Compromised Recruitment and Retention
• Difficulty in Promoting Diversity
• Diminished Credibility of HR Policies
• Damage to Employer Branding

                  Source:  https://youtu.be/rGAQJF3UQqA?si=mhtuS9c_0VElQ2dj

What can be done to Combat Favoritism

According to Indvik and Johnson( 2012) Several actions can be taken to minimize favoritism and address the perception of its presence effectively.

1.  Implement Transparent Policies

The organization needs to create precise guidelines to handle promotions together with rewards and recognition systems. Openness within organizational systems diminishes perceptions about favoritism.

2. Train Leadership

Manage overall employee leaders need training sessions that teach them how to make decisions without biases as well as diversity and inclusion practices. Organizational culture will shift when managers and leaders learn about favoritism effects according to the provided education.

3. Foster a Feedback Culture

The organization should establish multiple communication methods for employees to express their doubts and opinions including survey programs and town hall meetings and confidential feedback receptacles.

4. Monitor Key Metrics

Human Resources analytics should be employed to monitor how performance evaluations unfold as well as how promotions and rewards systems function. The identification of biased patterns through HR teams allows them to make prompt interventional decisions.

5. Encourage Team-building Activities

The organization should host events that bring workers closer together to create better teamwork and prevent sectionalism from favoritism.

Reframed Perspective: How Favoritism Affects Organizations in Sri Lanka

The workplace culture in Sri Lanka is influenced by strong cultural values and communal ties leading to specific consequences of favoritism on organizational development. The high value placed on traditional networks and interpersonal bonds creates extended difficulties for businesses because of preferential treatment of chosen individuals.

Strategic importance defines the status of favoritism management as a fundamental human resources operation. Organization success depends on creating environments that show all practices clearly as well as implementing equal measures for every employee and include all staff members in key decisions thus restoring trust levels among employees including full workforce potential release. Organization wide growth and better workplace culture will result from the mitigation of favoritism's negative effects.

Food for Thought

Favoritism is a silent adversary that can unravel the fabric of a workplace. For employees, it can trigger demotivation and disengagement, while for HRM, it poses challenges in maintaining equality, trust, and credibility. By acknowledging and addressing favoritism, organizations can cultivate a culture of fairness that benefits of employees, HR professionals, and leaders. The road to an unbiased workplace may not be easy, but it is certainly rewarding. When every employee feels valued, respected, and included, organizations can unleash the full potential of their workforce and achieve sustainable growth.

References

Indvik, J. and Johnson, P.R., 2012. The elephant in the living room: favoritism in the workplace. In Allied Academies International Conference. Academy of Organizational Culture, Communications and Conflict. Proceedings (Vol. 17, No. 1, p. 13). Jordan Whitney Enterprises, Inc.[Online]Available at https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=3428df534e75f9a91a25375e635cf2d6d4cc572a#page=19  [Accessed on 31st March 2025].

Butterman, E., 2007. Playing Favorites?. Instructor, 116(6), pp.39-41.[Online]Available at https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ792935 [Accessed on 31st March 2025].

Gallup (2023) Trust in Leadership Report[Online]Available at https://www.gallup.com/workplace/473738/why-trust-leaders-faltering-gain-back.aspx [Accessed on 31st March 2025].

SHRM (2023) Workplace Favoritism Survey[Online]Available at https://www.kaisglobalinsights.org/post/the-impact-of-favoritism-in-the-workplace [Accessed on 31st March 2025].