4 Signs There’s Favoritism On Your Team
Many of us have experienced favoritism in the workplace. However, sometimes this act of favoritism is only occasionally evident to the other employees on the team. This behavior can cause consequences on your team culture, such as negatively impacting team performance and creating toxic relationships. In this blog, I will discuss the four common signs there’s favoritism on your team and how you can address this issue.
1. Treated Differently
One of the significant signs of favoritism within your team is treating your team members differently. No, I am not talking about how some employees need to be managed or mentored differently; I am talking about where it is evident that someone within the team is catered to and approached differently. These are the types of ways an employee being treated differently is a sign of favoritism within your team:
The same employee always receives the exciting and most rewarding assignments.
A particular employee(s) is constantly promoted despite their job performance and lack of qualifications.
Opportunities for training and career growth are always offered to the same employee on your team.
Unequal treatment can be extremely disheartening for those not favored within your team. Having favoritism within your team or in the workplace can create a toxic work setting, ultimately damaging employee morale and destroying loyalty to the company. In some cases, this can cause employees to partake in “covering,” which is when employees hide some parts of their true personalities to fit with personalities within leadership. According to the Harvard Business Review survey, 61% of workers felt they needed to cover to fit in within their workplace, and 50% indicated their sense of commitment to the company was damaged.
How to Avoid Unequal Treatment
A way to treat your employees equally is that it is vital for leadership in the company to create clear and objective criteria for performance evaluations and team goals. This can help foster a culture of collaboration and teamwork, which will aid in establishing a sense of community versus creating a culture of resentment and toxicity.
2. Lack of Communication
Whenever a manager, team lead, or any leadership personnel expresses a game plan, idea, or change through one employee versus having the proper team meeting, that can be a sign of favoritism. When a leader communicates through a single employee, this can lead to sort of issues:
This can create a feeling of exclusion among the rest of your team.
This can create a lack of trust in leadership.
Sharing information exclusively with one employee can create an unfair advantage depending on the information provided.
How to Avoid Unequal Treatment
Leaders need to foster a culture that is transparent and inclusive. A leader can adopt this culture by holding regular team meetings, one-on-one meetings with every team member, and providing feedback to everyone on the team. Additionally, it is equally essential for all leaders to be transparent when sharing company goals, team assignments, and other work-related expectations.
3. Selected Receptiveness
When receptiveness from leaders on your team appears to be selective, that can be a sign of favoritism in your team. In other words, when leaders go to the same employee(s) to seek feedback or advice. For example, during a team meeting, you realize a team leader or manager is always seeking input from the same employee in every team meeting. This occurrence can occur regardless of whether the feedback adds value to the situation.
Regarding playing favorites regarding feedback, this selective receptiveness can cause “non-favorite” employees to feel invisible. This can lead to employees losing motivation and create resentment, which will only help feed into establishing a toxic work culture rather than an empowering one.
How to Avoid Selective Receptiveness
As both leaders and employees, it is essential that you set out to establish relationships with your team or leaders. Doing so makes you more likely to create meaningful connections with work and cultivate trust with your colleagues. Building trust can help establish credibility for employees and provide them opportunities to provide meaningful feedback to their leaders, while leaders will earn the trust of their team.
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4. Not Holding Everyone in Your Team to The Same Standards
The fourth sign of favoritism within your team is when a leader does not hold their team equally accountable. The favorite employee’s poor behavior and performance are tolerated and overlooked, while if you cross a line, your team lead immediately lets you know about your error. For example, a study by VitalSmarts revealed that women’s salary drops by 35% compared to their male colleagues when they speak assertively. This type of favoritism indicates how men are favored, and their aggressive behavior is excused, versus when women are condoned for acting out in the same manner.
When a team leader does not equally hold their team accountable, this can create a hostile team. Tensions will rise and will be noticeable in team or company meetings. At times this can cause a lot of inter-team relationship friction where the favorite employee may not be receiving support from the team, and the remainder of the team refuses to collaborate with the favorite colleague.
How to Equally Hold Your Employees to The Same Standards
Good leaders must treat employees equally and keep them accountable to ensure a productive and healthy workplace. To do this, it is essential that you do not help ANY of your employees but instead set up each one for success by equally providing them resources and guidance to find a solution on their own. Additionally, if a team needs to improve their work performance or crosses some boundary, it is vital to address each employee accordingly and equally.
Conclusion
When favoritism occurs within your team or the workplace, this can create a series of issues, such as underwhelming performances from employees, lack of involvement, a toxic workplace, and, overall, a lack of employee morale. It is crucial not to play any favorites within your team, even if you think you are not doing harm. This can also lead to your company establishing a bad reputation, making hiring more challenging.
It must be noted that this does not mean avoiding praising an employee who has accomplished something significant but simply treating your employees equally regarding performance, work relationships, and collaboration.
Related:
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Meet The Writer!
Hola! I’m Amanda Ortiz. I am a freelance writer and run my own freelance writing business, Starlit Writing. I have a B.A. in English from the California State University of Channel Islands and an M.A. in History from the California State University of Los Angeles. I have experience in technical writing in marketing and content writing. In my freetime, I spend writing about social and cultural obstacles that come with being a first-generation Latina. Please feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn and check out my blog on my company website!
