Tuesday, October 30, 2012

How to Deal With Favoritism in the Office

Do you have a colleague who is subject to special treatment while everyone else gets pushed aside? Are you the one praised incessantly by the boss, or the go-to person for all the great projects? It’s no secret that the playing field among workers isn’t level in most workplaces—and chances are you’ve been on one end of blatant favoritism at some point in your career.

It turns out that this widespread practice of favoritism can have a significant impact, whether you’re the victim or the VIP. A survey conducted by Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business last spring found that 92% of senior business executives have seen favoritism at play in employee promotions, including at their own companies (84%). About a quarter of the polled execs admitted to practicing favoritism themselves.

“Favoritism is absolutely seen in most offices, big or small,” says Ryan Kahn, a career coach, the star of MTV‘s Hired! and author of Hired! The Guide for the Recent Grad. “People enjoy working with friends, which often inadvertently turns into favoritism.  It can start as something as simple as being included on a lunch outing where business is discussed and may lead to something much more substantial, like getting salary and promotional benefits.  Wanting to work with people you like is fine, as long as it is fair to other employees.”



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