Why workplace favouritism hinders employee wellbeing

It’s no secret that today’s workplace is super competitive. Unfortunately, this results in some pretty unacceptable tactics, such as workplace favouritism. An ideal working environment is built on fairness and equality. When a company burdens itself with favouritism and unfair, preferential treatment, it opens the door to failure. 

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Businesses simply cannot operate on favouritism, it just isn’t an option. Doing so risks creating a divided, hostile workplace. One that leaves employees sprinting for the exit. Here, we’re examining workplace favouritism and revealing the severe impacts it has on employee wellbeing. 

What is workplace favouritism?

Workplace favouritism occurs when employees are treated differently, based on their personal connections, relationships, performance or seniority. These qualities help open doors and create opportunities for a select few, leaving everyone else at the hands of unfair treatment. 

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Whilst it may bring out the best in a number of employees, it will wreak havoc for everyone else. Think about it, your workforce will gradually grow to detest your leadership team, and you’ll be left with problems like job dissatisfaction, poor morale, general unhappiness and fractured work relationships.   

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Now that we understand roughly what workplace favouritism entails, let’s turn our attention to a number of negative impacts to remind ourselves about. This way, we can prevent some of the above hindrances and create healthier, happier teams.

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Increased stress and anxiety

Firstly and quite possibly the most important issue with workplace favouritism is that it increases stress and anxiety for everyone else. It’s a no-brainer that people want to do well in their careers, and workplace favouritism creates a sense of being undervalued and underachievement.

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If you’d like to reduce stress and anxiety in employees, it’s important to ensure favouritism has no place within your company. When we feel underappreciated, it can weigh on our self-worth and this can be problematic for people both inside and outside the workplace. 

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Exhausted workplace relationships

Next up, let’s discuss how exhausted workplace relationships weigh on employee wellbeing. With managers failing to win over the vast majority of team members due to workplace favouritism, you can imagine these professional relationships will become fractured. 

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And when our relationships with colleagues take a hit, it can result in isolation and isolation. This is a severe issue. As you may already know, the workplace provides us with the opportunity to make friends. 

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If these relationships fall apart, some employees will find the lack of friendship hinders their wellbeing. After all, we are social creatures and without friendships, loneliness can spiral into poor mental health.

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Poor physical wellbeing 

Last but certainly not least, workplace favouritism can lead to poor physical wellbeing. Now, you may be thinking, “how is that possible?” but hear us out! When employees experience alienation in the work environment, this leads to dissatisfaction, disappointment and general unhappiness. 

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Having to spend several hours a day in that kind of environment can have negative impacts on our wider health and wellbeing. Finally, when we reach this stage of poor health and wellbeing, we are less inclined to exercise more. 

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It doesn’t take long before someone who regularly enjoyed sports and fitness finds themselves suffering from poor physical wellbeing. 

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Conclusion on employee favouritism

There you have it! That’s our rundown on workplace favouritism. As you can see, it isn’t just performance and productivity that takes a hit, but your team’s general health and happiness. And that must be a non-negotiable if you want to build a successful business with a thriving workforce. 

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All-in-all, times are tough, and businesses must find faster ways to reach success. Although favouritism might motivate and drive a number of employees to be their best for your company, it is short-lived. 

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It is not a tactic for the long run. If you want to create a sustainable and high-achieving workforce, focus on building a culture of appreciation. Develop an employee recognition strategy and do away with favouritism.