Favoritism in the workplace: Definition and top strategies to eliminate it

Remember when you were in school, and there was always that one kid who got away with everything? Whether it was turning in homework late or getting picked first for every class activity, it was obvious the teacher had a favorite. Frustrating, right?

Now, fast forward to the workplace—where favoritism isn’t just about playground privileges but promotions, project assignments, and career growth. It’s not just annoying; it can derail an entire team’s motivation.

Workplace favoritism can quietly erode trust, leaving employees disengaged and questioning their value. In this blog, we’ll explore how favoritism takes root, the impact it has on your organization’s culture, and what you can do as a leader to foster a more balanced, merit-based environment. Let’s break it down.

What is favoritism in the workplace?

Workplace favoritism occurs when employees are given special treatment based on personal relationships, biases, or preferences—not performance or qualifications. This behavior fits the definition of favoritism in the workplace and undermines fairness, fostering a toxic environment where merit takes a backseat.

It reflects corporate favoritism and the deeper causes of favoritism in the workplace, such as unconscious bias and inconsistent standards.

Favoritism meaning becomes clear through actions like managers promoting protégés, assigning high-profile projects, or offering perks to a chosen few—common workplace favoritism examples. These behaviors define favoritism in the workplace, damaging morale and creating distrust.

Favoritism at work stifles growth, weakens cohesion, and fuels exclusion. To combat work favoritism, leaders must implement transparent, objective systems. Learning how to deal with favoritism at work is key to building a fair, inclusive, and high-performing culture.

Types of favoritism in the workplace

Recognizing different types of favoritism in the workplace helps organizations address unfair treatment and promote a fair work environment.

• Tenure-based favoritism: Long-term employees may get easier workloads and automatic promotions, affecting new hires' morale and reinforcing favoritism at work. This can hinder fresh ideas and discourage newer talent from advancing. Addressing tenure bias is key to ensuring equal growth opportunities.
• Cultural favoritism: Managers may unconsciously favor employees with similar backgrounds, limiting diversity and reinforcing workplace favoritism. This can result in exclusion and missed opportunities for others. Encouraging inclusivity can help prevent biased decision-making.
• Proximity favoritism: Employees working closer to leadership may receive better opportunities and visibility, contributing to favoritism in the workplace. Remote workers often feel overlooked, affecting engagement and career growth. Fair policies can ensure equal treatment across locations.
• Crisis favoritism: Managers may favor trusted employees during tough times, creating job security gaps and fostering favoritism at work. This can undermine team morale and limit opportunities for equally capable staff. Transparent crisis management can prevent unfair advantages.
• Favoritism in conflict resolution: Preferred employees may face lenient treatment in disputes, weakening trust and highlighting workplace favoritism. Stricter scrutiny of others can foster resentment and disengagement. Implementing impartial conflict policies is crucial for fairness.
• Favoritism in resource allocation: Some employees may receive better tools and budgets due to personal preferences, leading to favoritism meaning unequal opportunities. This can create inefficiencies and frustration. Fair distribution of resources ensures balanced team productivity.

Examples of favoritism in the workplace

Workplace favoritism often manifests through identifiable behaviors that give certain employees unfair advantages over others.

• Promotion of friends over merit: When a manager consistently promotes or favors friends within the team, regardless of their qualifications or job performance, it creates a perception of bias and undermines the merit-based promotion system.
• Exclusive project assignments: Assigning high-impact projects or desirable assignments consistently to a particular individual, often due to personal connections rather than a fair evaluation of skills and competence.
• Preferential treatment in workload: Allotting lighter workloads, flexible schedules, pay raises, or special considerations to certain employees based on personal relationships rather than equal distribution of responsibilities and opportunities.
• Undue recognition and praise: Singling out specific individuals for excessive praise and recognition, irrespective of their actual contributions, while overlooking the achievements of other deserving team members.
• Frequent socializing with select employees: When managers consistently spend time outside of work with certain employees—whether through lunches, informal meetings, or social events—it can create the perception of favoritism and exclusion among other team members.
• Selective enforcement of policies: When some employees are held strictly accountable for company rules, while others are allowed to bend or break them without consequences, it creates a culture of unfairness and resentment.
• Providing inside information: Favoring certain employees by giving them advance notice of upcoming changes, promotions, or business strategies, giving them an unfair advantage over their colleagues.
• Limited access to growth opportunities: When certain employees are consistently recommended for training programs, mentorship, or leadership development initiatives based on personal favoritism rather than potential and performance.
• Unbalanced delegation of responsibilities: Assigning high-visibility tasks or leadership roles to a select few while others are left with routine, less impactful work, limiting their growth and exposure within the company.
• Ignoring feedback from non-favored employees: When a manager gives more weight to ideas and suggestions from favored employees while dismissing or overlooking input from others, leading to a lack of diversity in decision-making.
• Shielding favored employees from criticism: Protecting certain employees from negative feedback or performance evaluations, even when their work falls below expectations, while holding others to stricter standards.

Common causes of favoritism in the workplace

Workplace favoritism is not as uncommon as it seems, and there are plenty of reasons that it could be happening in your organization as well. Let’s take a look at them.

• Personal relationships: One of the primary causes of favoritism is the influence of personal relationships. Managers may exhibit bias towards employees with whom they share personal connections, whether through friendships, family ties, or social networks.
• Similarity bias: Human nature tends to favor those who share similar characteristics, backgrounds, or interests. Managers may unconsciously show preferential treatment to employees or family members who mirror their own traits, leading to a bias against those who differ.
• Performance misjudgment: Managers may fall into the trap of favoritism by incorrectly evaluating an employee's performance. If a manager has preconceived notions or biases about a favorite employee, they might misinterpret or overlook the achievements and contributions of certain individuals, favoring others without a solid basis.
• Perceived competence: Employees who are perceived as more competent or skilled than other employees may receive preferential treatment. This bias can arise from a manager's subjective judgment rather than an objective assessment of an individual's abilities and accomplishments.
• Loyalty and obedience: Managers might favor employees who exhibit unwavering loyalty or unquestioning obedience, valuing compliance over independent thinking. This preference can lead to a skewed distribution of opportunities and rewards, disadvantaging those who may question the status quo or offer alternative perspectives.
• Social influence: Employees who have strong social influence within the organization, such as being well-liked by peers or having a charismatic personality, may be favored by managers. This favoritism can stem from the manager’s desire to align with popular individuals, regardless of their actual job performance.
• Seniority bias: Employees with longer tenure in the organization may receive favoritism based on their seniority rather than their current performance or potential. Managers might feel obligated to reward long-serving employees, which can create an unfair advantage for senior leadership over newer, potentially more qualified team members.
• Availability bias: Managers may favor employees who are more readily available or visible, such as those who frequently interact with them or are located in the same office. This proximity can lead to unintentional favoritism, where remote or less visible employees are overlooked despite their contributions.
• Flattery and ingratiation: Employees who engage in flattery or ingratiating behavior towards managers may receive preferential treatment. Managers might subconsciously reward those who consistently praise them or go out of their way to please, even if their performance is not superior to that of others.
• Risk aversion: Managers may favor employees who are less likely to challenge their decisions or take risks. By rewarding those who maintain the status quo, managers might avoid the discomfort of dealing with new ideas or potential conflicts, which can stifle innovation and create an uneven playing field.
• External pressures: Favoritism can also arise from external pressures, such as recommendations from higher-ups or influential stakeholders. Managers might feel compelled to favor certain employees due to these outside influences, which can undermine fairness and merit-based recognition in the workplace.

Signs of favoritism in the workplace

Identifying favoritism in the workplace is essential to fostering fairness and preventing negative impacts on morale and trust. Here are the signs of favoritism at work:

• Unequal access to leadership: Certain employees have more direct interactions with managers, gaining influence over decisions and opportunities, which reflects what is favoritism in the workplace and creates an uneven playing field. Transparent leadership interactions can help mitigate such biases.
• Disproportionate career growth patterns: Some employees experience rapid promotions without justification, while equally qualified peers are overlooked, serving as clear favoritism in workplace examples that undermine merit-based advancement. Establishing clear promotion criteria ensures fairness.
• Inconsistent application of feedback: When favored employees receive positive reviews despite performance issues, while others are held to stricter standards, it exemplifies favoritism meaning in performance evaluations. Objective review processes can help address this issue.
• Exclusion from decision-making: Employees outside the favored circle are often left out of important meetings, highlighting examples of favoritism in the workplace that hinder collaboration. Inclusive decision-making fosters equal participation.
• Frequent changes in work assignments: Preferential allocation of high-impact projects to certain individuals demonstrates favoritism in workplace, affecting workload balance and team morale. Fair distribution of tasks ensures equal growth opportunities.
• Lack of accountability for favored employees: When select employees evade consequences for poor performance, it showcases favoritism in the workplace examples that can erode team trust. Consistent enforcement of accountability measures is crucial.
• Overlooked ideas and contributions: When input from non-favored employees is routinely ignored or dismissed while similar suggestions from favored individuals are praised, it demonstrates a bias that stifles innovation and discourages engagement. Encouraging diverse employee voices and recognizing contributions equally helps create an inclusive culture.
• Unfair distribution of recognition: Public praise, awards, or other forms of recognition are disproportionately directed toward a select few, regardless of overall team performance. This skews morale and may demotivate high-performing employees who feel their efforts are ignored. Implementing peer-nominated recognition can help balance the spotlight.
• Limited access to development opportunities: Training programs, mentorships, or external workshops are often offered to the same group of employees, limiting others' chances to grow. A transparent, needs-based selection process for development resources promotes equal career advancement.

Is favoritism in the workplace illegal?

Favoritism in the workplace is not inherently illegal, but it can become a legal issue when it leads to discrimination. If favoritism results in biased treatment based on protected characteristics such as race, gender, age, or religion, it may violate anti-discrimination laws like Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in the U.S.

For example, consistently favoring employees of a certain gender in promotions could be considered unlawful discrimination. Favoritism can also lead to claims of unfair employment practices related to hiring, job assignments, or benefits, prompting complaints to agencies like the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

To avoid legal risks, organizations should implement clear, merit-based policies and ensure fairness in decision-making. Promoting transparency and objectivity helps mitigate disputes and fosters a more equitable workplace.

Favoritism and bias in the workplace

The following table compares favoritism and bias in the workplace, emphasizing how each influences decision-making, employee morale, and organizational outcomes.

What are the negative effects of favoritism in the workplace?

Favoritism in the workplace can significantly harm organizational health, leading to a wide range of negative outcomes affecting employees and overall performance.

• Decreased morale: Favoritism can create an environment where non-favored employees feel undervalued and demotivated. This decline in morale can spread throughout the workforce, affecting overall job satisfaction, decreased productivity, and engagement.
• Reduced productivity: When employees perceive that promotions, opportunities, and recognition are not based on merit, it can lead to a lack of motivation and a decline in productivity. Frustration and resentment among such employees may hinder collaborative efforts and teamwork.
• High turnover rates: Workplace favoritism can contribute to higher employee turnover rates. Individuals who feel unfairly treated or overlooked may seek better opportunities elsewhere, impacting the organization's stability and continuity.
• Impaired team dynamics: A favored employee may enjoy special treatment and privileges, creating divisions within the team. This can disrupt teamwork and collaboration, as non-favored individuals may feel excluded or hesitant to contribute their best efforts.
• Inequality and discrimination: Favoritism perpetuates inequality and can be perceived as a form of discrimination. This not only damages the professional growth of individuals who are not in the favored circle but also undermines the principles of fairness and diversity within the workplace.
• Negative organizational culture: A culture of favoritism erodes trust and damages the overall reputation of an organization. It can create a toxic work environment where employees are more focused on personal connections than on contributing to the collective success of the company.
• Legal consequences: If favoritism leads to discrimination against a particular employee, it may result in legal consequences for the organization. Lawsuits and legal actions can arise if employees believe they have been treated unfairly based on factors such as race, gender, or other protected characteristics.
• Stifled innovation: Favoritism can stifle innovation as non-favored employees may feel their ideas and contributions are not valued. This can lead to a lack of creative solutions and hinder the organization's ability to innovate and stay competitive.
• Increased stress levels: The presence of favoritism can increase stress levels among employees who feel they are constantly being overlooked or unfairly judged. This heightened stress can lead to burnout, decreased mental health, and higher absenteeism rates, further affecting organizational performance.
• Erosion of trust: Favoritism can erode trust between employees and management. When employees perceive that decisions are influenced by favoritism rather than merit, it can lead to skepticism about the fairness of leadership and decision-making processes.
• Decreased employee engagement: Employees who perceive favoritism may become disengaged, showing less enthusiasm and commitment to their work. This disengagement can manifest in a lack of initiative and reduced effort, impacting overall team performance.
• Unfair distribution of resources: Favoritism can lead to an uneven distribution of resources, such as training opportunities, project assignments, and career development programs. This imbalance can limit the growth potential of non-favored employees and perpetuate a cycle of inequality.
• Damage to leadership credibility: Managers who engage in favoritism may damage their own credibility and authority. When employees see that decisions are based on personal biases rather than objective criteria, it can undermine the leader’s ability to effectively manage and inspire their team.

How to address favoritism in the workplace?

Addressing favoritism requires a proactive and transparent approach to ensure fairness and equal opportunities for all employees. Here are key strategies to tackle favoritism effectively:

• Establish clear criteria: Define unbiased standards for performance evaluations, promotions, and other career opportunities to ensure merit-based decisions.
• Implement structured feedback: Use objective feedback mechanisms to recognize and reward employee contributions fairly.
• Encourage open communication: Create safe channels for employees to express concerns without fear of retaliation.
• Provide DEI training: Conduct diversity, equity, and inclusion programs to raise awareness and promote a fair workplace culture.
• Lead by example: Managers and leaders should demonstrate impartiality and fairness in their decision-making processes.
• Formal grievance process: Set up a clear, structured process to address favoritism complaints promptly and fairly.
• Promote transparency and accountability: Foster a culture where fairness and equal opportunities are integral to workplace operations.

What role does transparency play in preventing favoritism?

Transparency serves as a powerful antidote to corporate favoritism, fostering fairness, clarity, and trust in workplace processes and decisions.

• Clarifies expectations and accountability: When companies clearly communicate performance metrics, evaluation criteria, and promotion pathways, it reduces ambiguity and minimizes the risk of preferential treatment. Employees know what’s expected—and what’s rewarded.
• Makes decision-making traceable: Transparent hiring, promotion, and reward systems allow employees to see how and why decisions are made. This discourages covert types of favoritism and makes it harder for biased decisions to go unnoticed.
• Fosters a culture of open feedback: Open conversations about growth, feedback, and recognition reduce the chances of misunderstanding or secrecy. It also allows employees to raise concerns, blurring the line between workplace discrimination vs favoritism when not addressed early and constructively.
• Reduces perceived bias: In environments lacking transparency, even fair decisions can appear suspicious. When processes are out in the open, it becomes easier to distinguish between legitimate outcomes and actual corporate favoritism.
• Enables fair conflict resolution: If someone feels overlooked, a transparent environment makes it easier to trace back decisions and address concerns objectively. It also helps explain preferential treatment meaning in context, especially when perceptions differ from intent.
• Builds trust in leadership: Employees are more likely to respect and trust leadership when they believe decisions are made fairly and openly. Transparency strengthens organizational integrity and helps prevent resentment from festering.

How to prevent favoritism as a manager: 5 Strategies to try in 2025

By adopting the following strategies, managers can proactively prevent favoritism, creating a workplace culture that values fairness, equality, and professional growth for all employees in 2025 and beyond.

1. Establish transparent policies: Implement clear and transparent policies for performance evaluation, promotions, and opportunities. Ensure that these criteria are communicated effectively to all employees, leaving no room for ambiguity. Transparent guidelines help in fostering a fair and merit-based work environment.
2. Provide equal opportunities: Actively strive to provide equal opportunities for professional development and growth to motivate employees. Distribute challenging and special assignments, mentorship, social events, and training programs fairly among team members. This ensures that everyone has a chance to showcase their skills and contribute to the organization's success.
3. Encourage open communication: Create an environment where open communication is not only welcomed but encouraged. Foster a culture where employees feel comfortable discussing their concerns about favoritism. Regular check-ins, team meetings, and feedback sessions can provide platforms for dialogue and resolution.
4. Implement diversity and inclusion initiatives: Embrace diversity and inclusion initiatives to promote a culture that values differences. By celebrating diversity and actively working to eliminate biases, managers can contribute to a more inclusive workplace where employees are recognized and appreciated for their unique contributions.
5. Lead by example: Managers play a crucial role in setting the tone for the workplace culture. Demonstrate fairness and impartiality in decision-making processes. Avoid showcasing preferential treatment, and be mindful of personal biases. Leading by example helps establish a culture where merit and competence are valued above personal connections.

How managers can stop favoritism?

Managers play a pivotal role in curbing favoritism and ensuring that all employees are treated equitably. Here are seven strategies that managers can implement to combat favoritism effectively:

• Establish clear criteria: Develop and communicate clear, objective criteria for performance evaluations, promotions, and rewards. By ensuring that decisions are based on transparent metrics rather than subjective opinions, managers can minimize the potential for favoritism.
• Implement standardized processes: Standardize processes for decision-making and resource allocation. Using consistent procedures for assigning tasks, evaluating performance, and making promotional decisions helps ensure fairness and reduces the likelihood of bias.
• Encourage open communication: Foster an environment where employees feel comfortable expressing concerns and providing feedback. Regularly solicit input from team members about their perceptions of fairness and address any issues promptly.
• Provide training: Offer training on diversity, equity, and inclusion for all managers and staff. Education on unconscious bias and inclusive practices can help mitigate favoritism and promote a more equitable workplace.
• Promote transparency: Ensure transparency in decision-making processes. When employees understand the rationale behind decisions and see that they are based on merit, trust in leadership is strengthened, and favoritism is less likely to occur.
• Monitor and review decisions: Regularly review decisions related to promotions, raises, and project assignments to ensure they align with established criteria and standards. Conducting audits can help identify and address any instances of favoritism.
• Foster a collaborative culture: Encourage teamwork and collaboration among employees. A culture that values collective achievement and mutual respect can reduce individual biases and promote fairness in team dynamics.

What HR policies can prevent favoritism from taking root

To build a culture rooted in fairness and merit, HR must take proactive steps to reduce favoritism and bias in the workplace through strong, clear, and inclusive policies.

• Establish transparent performance review processes: When promotions, raises, or documented criteria and measurable outcomes back recognitions, it becomes harder for favoritism in the workplace examples to go unchecked. Clear performance metrics ensure all employees know what's expected and how to succeed.
• Standardize decision-making criteria: Hiring, project assignments, and advancement decisions should rely on objective guidelines. This not only curbs seniority discrimination in the workplace but also helps define preferential treatment boundaries so employees understand what crosses the line.
• Offer anonymous reporting channels: HR should implement safe, anonymous ways for employees to report concerns. Knowing how to complain about favoritism at work without fear of retaliation empowers individuals to speak up early, before toxic patterns become culture.
• Train managers on unconscious bias: Leaders often don’t realize when they’re playing favorites. Regular training focused on favoritism and bias in the workplace helps build awareness and more mindful decision-making.
• Rotate opportunities fairly: Equitable distribution of high-visibility tasks, development programs, or mentoring shows that advancement is based on merit, not relationships.
• Conduct regular audits and feedback reviews: HR should periodically review promotions, pay changes, and recognition patterns. These audits help identify emerging trends and address favoritism in the workplace examples before they impact morale or retention.

How to promote fairness in the workplace?

Promoting fairness in the workplace is essential to reducing corporate favoritism and ensuring equal opportunities for all employees.

• Develop objective performance metrics: Establishing measurable performance indicators ensures fair evaluations based on merit, helping to address why do people show favoritism and preventing employee favoritism at work. Clear criteria promote transparency and accountability.
• Encourage cross-functional collaboration: Rotating employees across teams helps break silos and ensures equal opportunities, offering solutions to favoritism in the workplace by reducing personal biases and familiarity-based advantages. This fosters a more inclusive environment.
• Implement blind evaluation processes: Removing identifiable details in promotions and appraisals can prevent unconscious bias and address signs of favoritism, providing an effective approach to how to prevent favoritism in the workplace through objective decision-making.
• Standardize recognition programs: Structured recognition frameworks ensure fair rewards based on contributions, helping organizations avoid favoritism in the workplace and dispelling perceptions of corporate favoritism in reward systems.
• Promote equitable mentorship opportunities: Offering mentorship to all employees helps eliminate favoritism and aligns with the definition of favoritism, ensuring that growth opportunities are accessible to everyone, not just a select few.
• Encourage peer feedback: 360-degree feedback fosters transparency and serves as a solution to why do managers play favorites, offering balanced perspectives on performance. This helps organizations detect and address favoritism proactively.
• Ensure pay equity audits: Regular salary reviews help identify biases and provide insights into how to deal with favoritism, promoting fairness in compensation and minimizing favoritism risks.

Role of manager effectiveness surveys in identifying and curbing favoritism

Manager effectiveness surveys provide a valuable tool for identifying and addressing favoritism in the workplace by gathering employee feedback on managerial behavior. Here’s how they contribute to a fair work environment:

• Confidential feedback collection: Surveys allow employees to anonymously express concerns about favoritism and biases without fear of retaliation.
• Identifying patterns: Analyzing survey responses helps uncover trends of unequal treatment and assess their impact on morale and engagement.
• Evaluating fairness and transparency: Tailored questions can measure employee perceptions of fairness in decision-making and equal opportunity distribution.
• Enabling targeted action: Survey insights help organizations implement interventions such as leadership training, policy adjustments, or development programs.
• Promoting accountability: Regular surveys reinforce a culture of transparency and hold managers accountable for their actions.
• Preventing future favoritism: Proactive use of surveys helps organizations address favoritism before it becomes a larger issue.

Conclusion

Favoritism in the workplace remains a pervasive issue with far-reaching, negative consequences. It breeds resentment, damages morale, and disrupts team cohesion. Left unchecked, it erodes trust in leadership and stifles growth. Recognizing the signs, addressing root causes, and implementing preventive measures are essential steps toward creating a fairer, more inclusive workplace where merit truly matters.

One effective approach to uncover and address favoritism is conducting a manager effectiveness survey. This tool allows organizations to gauge employee perceptions of fairness, leadership behavior, and decision-making practices. The insights gathered can highlight patterns of favoritism and inform targeted interventions to improve managerial accountability and transparency.

CultureMonkey further enhances this process by providing real-time, data-driven insights into employee sentiment. By tracking favoritism trends and promoting open communication, CultureMonkey empowers companies to foster a culture rooted in equity, performance, and trust.

FAQs

1. Why is there favoritism in the workplace?

Workplace favoritism often stems from personal biases, where managers may prefer employees they share relationships or characteristics with. These causes of favoritism in the workplace include subjective evaluations and perceived competence. Such behavior results in preferential treatment at work, affecting employee morale and creating an unequal environment—this is a clear definition of favoritism in the workplace.

2. Is favoritism a form of discrimination?

Yes, favoritism at work can be a form of discrimination. When preferential opportunity is based on personal preferences rather than merit, it undermines fairness and equal access. This reflects the favoritism meaning that leads to disadvantages for others, directly contradicting diversity and inclusion principles and encouraging corporate favoritism in leadership decisions, career advancement, project allocation, and overall organizational culture.

3. How can employees identify favoritism in the workplace?

Identifying workplace favoritism involves watching for the signs of favoritism at work, such as biased promotions, recognition without merit, and preferential treatment at work. Employees should question inconsistent policy enforcement and patterns where the same individuals always benefit. These are classic workplace favoritism examples that indicate unfairness.

4. How can organizations address favoritism and promote fairness in the workplace?

To combat favoritism at work, organizations should create transparent, merit-based systems for rewards and growth. Leadership training on bias, open communication, and fair evaluations reduce corporate favoritism. Clear policies that define favoritism in the workplace and establish accountability promote equality, ensuring all employees are treated fairly and given preferential opportunity based on merit, not personal bias.

5. How does favoritism impact diversity and inclusion efforts within organizations?

Work favoritism undermines diversity by giving preferential treatment at work to select individuals, limiting opportunities for others. These types of favoritism prevent underrepresented groups from advancing, despite qualifications. Addressing workplace favoritism examples and clearly outlining the definition of favoritism in the workplace is essential for building inclusive environments where all employees have equal access to career growth.

6. What can leaders do to prevent favoritism?

Leaders must establish fair processes to reduce favoritism in the workplace. Transparent decision-making, regular bias training, and open communication help build inclusive cultures. Encouraging feedback and treating everyone equally limits corporate favoritism. Understanding how to deal with favoritism at work empowers leaders to earn trust, ensure preferential opportunity is merit-based, and support positive team dynamics.

7. How does favoritism affect employee morale?

Favoritism at work lowers morale, causing resentment and disengagement among non-favored employees. It creates inequality and reduces trust in leadership. Witnessing workplace favoritism examples and preferential treatment at work demotivates teams and increases turnover. Teaching teams how to deal with favoritism and eliminating bias ensures a fair, healthy culture that boosts productivity and employee satisfaction.

8. What should you do if you feel you're being overlooked because of favoritism?

If you're experiencing favoritism in the workplace, document workplace favoritism examples and calmly address the issue with your manager or HR. Understanding the favoritism definition and the causes of favoritism in the workplace helps frame your concern professionally. If discrimination or favoritism at work is present, it’s important to seek fair treatment based on merit.

9. How do you raise favoritism concerns without damaging relationships?

To address workplace favoritism tactfully, focus on facts rather than emotions. Use clear workplace favoritism examples and ask for transparency in assignments or recognition. Knowing what is preferential treatment in the workplace helps articulate your concerns without sounding accusatory. This approach avoids conflict while still addressing possible discrimination or favoritism at work.

10. Can employee surveys detect favoritism at work?

Yes, well-designed employee surveys can help identify favoritism in the workplace by gathering anonymous feedback. They can expose patterns related to the causes of favoritism in the workplace and highlight areas needing improvement. Since favoritism—often considered a subtle form of bias—raises questions like “is favoritism a form of discrimination?”, surveys offer a data-driven perspective.