ON THE JOB : MANAGER'S FAVORITISM DEVASTATES MORALE.Byline: Carol Kleiman Chicago Tribune Chicago Tribune Daily newspaper published in Chicago. The Tribune is one of the leading U.S. newspapers and long has been the dominant voice of the Midwest. Founded in 1847, it was bought in 1855 by six partners, including Joseph Medill (1823–99), who made the paper Teacher's ``pet.'' Everyone knows what that is, and it's a situation that's not good for the pet, the teacher or the jealous classmates Classmates can refer to either:
But when the same situation exists in the workplace, the favoritism can be destructive to morale and productivity. Although it is not as serious as the damage that can result from nepotism nep·o·tism n. Favoritism shown or patronage granted to relatives, as in business. [French népotisme, from Italian nepotismo, from nepote, nephew, from Latin or office romances, it nonetheless affects the rest of the staff when a manager singles out a worker as an intimate friend. It certainly is understandable that people, even managers, may want to be friends with someone on their staff, but that puts the rest of the staff at a disadvantage. And it takes a very special friend not to take advantage of the relationship. ``I work as part of a team devising new programs,'' a computer technician told me. ``We worked well together for two years. Then we got a new boss from another department, and he brought along one of his people to be part of the team. There's a lot of work to do, but this guy goofs off, comes in late, leaves early and makes no effort to do his share.'' The worst part, the technician added, is that the ``pet'' spends too much time in the manager's office. They frequently have lunch together, play golf together and, with their wives, socialize so·cial·ize v. so·cial·ized, so·cial·iz·ing, so·cial·iz·es v.tr. 1. To place under government or group ownership or control. 2. To make fit for companionship with others; make sociable. outside the office. ``This is demoralizing de·mor·al·ize tr.v. de·mor·al·ized, de·mor·al·iz·ing, de·mor·al·iz·es 1. To undermine the confidence or morale of; dishearten: an inconsistent policy that demoralized the staff. to the rest of us, who are left out of the inner circle but also have to pick up the favorite's slack,'' he said. ``The manager is friendly with the rest of us but purely on a professional basis.'' The technician asked: ``Why didn't top management see the transfer of a manager's friend to his new department as a warning signal? Don't favoritism or personal friendships with a staff member go against rules of good management?'' The answer is yes. This is not good management. My theory about these situations is that the top brass know about it, don't care
"Don't Care" is a 1994 (see 1994 in music) single by American death metal band Obituary. or don't see it as harmful. Many people bring their friends with them to new posts - it's called ``the old boy network'' - because they want to have people who are loyal and dependable. Whatever the reasons, preferring one worker over another is widespread in corporate America. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the results of a 1996 Gallup Poll Gallup Poll Noun a sampling of the views of a representative cross section of the population, usually used to forecast voting [after G H Gallup, statistician] Gallup poll n → published in Training magazine, one of the things that makes workers most angry is favoring one employee over another.'' ``I'm friendly with people on the team that I manage, but I walk a fine line,'' said Kathy Compton, director of public affairs Those public information, command information, and community relations activities directed toward both the external and internal publics with interest in the Department of Defense. Also called PA. See also command information; community relations; public information. for the Society for Human Resource Management  This article or section is written like an .Please help [ rewrite this article] from a neutral point of view. Mark blatant advertising for , using . and chairwoman of its customer satisfaction team. ``I consider them my friends, but the priority is to get the work done, and I show no favoritism,'' said Compton, based at the association's headquarters in Alexandria, Va. ``Callous as it sounds, friendship takes a back seat in the workplace.'' When a team manager has a pet, she advises other team members to talk to the manager about the problem and, if that doesn't alleviate it, to notify the Human Resource Department. ``The manager needs to be made aware,'' Compton said. ``His friend is abusing their friendship, and this team soon won't be working because it is missing that extra spoke of cohesiveness that makes the wheel turn.'' Ava J. Baum, career counselor with the Derson Group Ltd. consultants, advises team members ``to sit down with the person not doing his job and, instead of talking about favoritism, explain that everyone is working hard, but the perception is that he's coming in later and not getting through his workload.'' Instead of being confrontational, Baum suggests being ``collegial col·le·gi·al adj. 1. a. Characterized by or having power and authority vested equally among colleagues: "He . . . , asking what you can do to help him get through his workload. Don't make a threat or indictment.'' Baum suggests direct action. ``If you just sit there and stew, that's not going to get the work done, and resentment will build,'' she warned. ``What we're talking about here is power and politics and how to play the game.'' CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Ava J. Baum, career counselor with the Derson Group Ltd. consultants, advises team members on dealing with favoritism in the workplace. |
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