The most productive, wittiest, and creative employees are the ones, who inherit a visionary leadership and thrust to reach the top. At least, this is the image of that consistent ‘employee of the month’ folk in every organization. Unfortunately, the sad reality is that the practice of favoring and promoting a relative, family friend, or courtesan is widely practiced in several workplaces all over.
The evils of nepotism, a prevalent workplace discrimination practice should not be overlooked. It is not only advisable to have counteractive policies to curb the practice of nepotism in a workplace, but also to monitor the staff to keep an eye on any such underlying relationships.
Here are some risks for a workplace that breeds nepotism:
1. Workforce Commotion
One of the most distressing and common complaints in a workplace that breeds nepotism is inequality. Blatant favouritism of a family friend or relative can trigger dissatisfaction among other employees affecting workplace morale largely. Employees tend to become less-productive and disinterested toward their work if they feel that the route to promotion is challenged by nepotism. Worst part, it can cause your best talents to quit in search of better opportunities. This can one of the top reasons you are forcing your best employees to call it quit.
2. Increased risks of lawsuits/litigations
Unfortunately, there are very few employee rules that regulate nepotism at workplace. Nevertheless, the worst outcomes of nepotism often end up in brutal lawsuits or litigations against a company affecting its brand image. For example, personal relationships between co-workers may often lead to emotional trauma and hysterical breakups in a workplace.
This can evolve into a nasty rift between both the parties. Eventually, the company might be dragged into the tussle if either of the parties decides to file a litigation against the organisation. Even if the conflict doesn’t escalate to legal grounds, it can permanently sabotage the workplace culture.
Also read: Workplace Harassment: Still a Grim Reality!
3. Productivity goes for a toss
One of the worst parts of nepotism is that it affects workplace productivity severely. Most oft, employees promoted or rewarded merely because of their kinships with the management heads are likely to be less qualified for the roles they are deemed fit. This can lead to the degradation of leadership abilities at the senior level and the demoralization of deserving employees.
Counteracting the Discrimination
Many organizations ensure to have anti-nepotism policies in place. Some policies forbid recruiting any relative of an employee, whereas some prohibit any kind of indirect or direct reporting between two related employees. It is sensible to have such policies to disarm workplace nepotism.
Do not let nepotism hinder your company’s functions and create a demoralizing environment for your employees. Given the number of problems (often of severe gravity) that it can create, it is always wise to stay away from favoritism of any kind in a workplace.
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