It’s never easy dealing with a boss bitten by the favouritism bug. Even more so, since favouritism, in some form or the other, is alive and kicking at most workplaces. Just a couple of years ago, a survey published by Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business that covered senior executives at large US corporations, found that 92% have seen favouritism at play in employee promotions, 84% have seen it at their own companies and 23% said they practiced favouritism themselves. Most organisations tend to ignore or play down the issue of favouritism. But if not dealt with properly, it can create bad feelings among colleagues and affect employee morale. Sreeradha D Basu gets you a few tips on dealing with favouritism at work:
1 Analyse if You are Really a Victim
Take an honest look to figure out if that ‘favoured’ employee walking away with the bigger raise and promotion actually deserves it more than you. You may discover that the person has, in fact, been performing better. A study from the University of British Columbia Sauder School of Business shows that bosses should pick favourites if they want top performing teams. Sauder Professor Karl Aquino, who co-authored the study, maintains that while conventional wisdom dictates that everyone should be treated the same to create a productive work atmosphere, research shows this can be a disincentive for workers who would otherwise go above and beyond on behalf of the team with a little more attention.
2 Maintain a Positive Attitude
It may seem difficult to do especially if you are feeling victimised, but it can help you deal with the situation better. Says Taruni Sen (name changed), a magazine reporter, who works in an organisation where a colleague has long been the boss’ favourite. “I figured it wouldn’t help to crib about it. Instead, I just concentrated on doing my own work better. Soon, I was getting noticed too, on my own merit,” she says.
3 Avoid Gossip
Gossiping about the situation with your colleagues isn’t going to help in any way. All it will do is make the situation more tense and negative.
4 Speak Up
According to Arvind Agarwal, president and chief executive, corporate development and HR, RPG Enterprises, the employee feeling overlooked needs to express himself instead of sulking about it. “A lot of times a particular individual may be playing favourites, but the organisation may not even be aware of it. Then the employee can take the matter up with the HR or even the boss’ boss,” he says. “In many evolved companies, there are now whistleblower policies where an individual can raise an issue to a higher level. Even avenues like customer engagement surveys can be used to raise this point. What is important is that the employee doesn’t disengage,” cautions Agarwal.
5 Look for Options
If the situation doesn’t improve and no one is listening, then you need to move on, feels Agarwal. “There’s only so much one can do. Having to move on is unfortunate, but sometimes it’s necessary,” says Agarwal.
(The Economic Times, Mumbai, 11-06-2013)
1 Analyse if You are Really a Victim
Take an honest look to figure out if that ‘favoured’ employee walking away with the bigger raise and promotion actually deserves it more than you. You may discover that the person has, in fact, been performing better. A study from the University of British Columbia Sauder School of Business shows that bosses should pick favourites if they want top performing teams. Sauder Professor Karl Aquino, who co-authored the study, maintains that while conventional wisdom dictates that everyone should be treated the same to create a productive work atmosphere, research shows this can be a disincentive for workers who would otherwise go above and beyond on behalf of the team with a little more attention.
2 Maintain a Positive Attitude
It may seem difficult to do especially if you are feeling victimised, but it can help you deal with the situation better. Says Taruni Sen (name changed), a magazine reporter, who works in an organisation where a colleague has long been the boss’ favourite. “I figured it wouldn’t help to crib about it. Instead, I just concentrated on doing my own work better. Soon, I was getting noticed too, on my own merit,” she says.
3 Avoid Gossip
Gossiping about the situation with your colleagues isn’t going to help in any way. All it will do is make the situation more tense and negative.
4 Speak Up
According to Arvind Agarwal, president and chief executive, corporate development and HR, RPG Enterprises, the employee feeling overlooked needs to express himself instead of sulking about it. “A lot of times a particular individual may be playing favourites, but the organisation may not even be aware of it. Then the employee can take the matter up with the HR or even the boss’ boss,” he says. “In many evolved companies, there are now whistleblower policies where an individual can raise an issue to a higher level. Even avenues like customer engagement surveys can be used to raise this point. What is important is that the employee doesn’t disengage,” cautions Agarwal.
5 Look for Options
If the situation doesn’t improve and no one is listening, then you need to move on, feels Agarwal. “There’s only so much one can do. Having to move on is unfortunate, but sometimes it’s necessary,” says Agarwal.
(The Economic Times, Mumbai, 11-06-2013)
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