Nepotism is avoided by majority of the medium size organizations. They feel the employees will be more productive if they don’t have relatives working within the same office space. Although there are two loop holes in this:
1. The employees can refer their friends. How different is it to refer a friend to a relative? How different is it to have a friend rather than a relative working within the same organization? It all depends on the rapport shared between the two individuals. Some might even be more close to friends than relatives. And it is only a matter of prioritizing your tasks for being productive, irrespective of friends/ relative working in the same organization.
2. There are lot of cases in which employees find their life partners with in the same organizations. To this, different companies have rules laid out differently. Some organizations might ask either of them to leave the company, while some might move either of them to a different team if they belonged to the same team. The first scenario gives no scope for influence, while the second, gives plenty of scope. Especially if it is a medium size organization.
Nepotism is not as negative as its defined to be. In large scale organizations, it is even encouraged. The company does not want to lose talent purely because one candidate is related to an employee. If such a candidate is hired, the management ensures both their work lives don’t cross paths. Will it still cause negative impact on the company and other employees? I would say not as much as Favoritism.
What are the chances of the referred candidates clearing all the interview rounds and getting the Job? 4-5 candidates out of 100. The negative impact due to nepotism as such is decreased (by referring to these numbers). Whereas, we have bosses who pick their favorites from their teams. Each boss has their own reason for doing so. Some might not have the same level of connection with the rest of their team, while some don’t want to make an effort. As long as the outcome of favoritism is not impacting negatively on the rest of the team, right? Wrong. The one person your boss chooses and if this one person does not get along well with all the team mates, this person’s perception will be portrayed to the boss. Be it Negative or Positive.
Can we avoid favoritism at workplace? Probably not. People’s perceptions keep changing based on circumstances. Someone who had negative impression on you could change their perception with just one situation. Having said that, is it right to act good just to get in the good books of the right people? No. It might cause more harm than good. At the same time, for some, once the opinion is formed, no matter what a person does, the original opinion remains.
What can a person do if he/ she is not the boss? The honest answer: Do your job and let your work reflect your worth! At the end of the day, job satisfaction is more important..!
