Nepotism in business is the practice of favoring friends and family in terms of employment or economic gain. The word nepotism is derived from the Italian word ‘nipote’ which means nephew. It is unfair to hire friends and family members at workplaces because they are related to the boss as opposed to their skills. Nepotism in business is common in small businesses, organizations, and family-run businesses.
In most cases, family and friends are hired because the boss is a relative who never performs well at work. This is because they did not qualify based on their skills and experience. This is something Father Rutler understands so well and condemns. He strongly believes people should be hired based on their skills and experience. While hiring friends and family is not bad, it becomes nepotism when they are hired over qualified candidates with experience and skills. However, we cannot hide away from nepotism in the business world. It is happening and continues to happen as the business world remains all about connectivity.
Nepotism and Family Business
Nepotism is a lot in family businesses where you will find more family members working in the same business. There is nothing wrong with hiring family and friends in your family business if they are qualified. However, when you hire them over qualified candidates, work productivity might drop. Most family and friends hired because they are related might not work as hard as others. This is because they have a false sense of security at work. They know they will not be sacked or demoted since they know the boss well.
Promoting friends and family members at workplaces because of their relationship is also considered nepotism. Take for example employee A working so hard to get a promotion. He or she does everything right, comes to work early, and meets all deadlines. Then there is employee B that is related to the boss or the manager. Employee B comes to work and does a bad job because of the relationship with the boss. When an opportunity for promotion comes, employee B is promoted over employee A.
This is a classic example of nepotism that Father Rutler opposes. While the Father knows nepotism still happens, he advises businesses to employ and promote people purely on their skills, hard work, and experience.
Sinking Morale of Employees
The morale of employee B will drastically drop and this will lead to reduced productivity at work. In business, people should be rewarded because of their hard work and results. Workers at any business or company want to feel they can grow and get ahead. Most will even work harder for the business when they see their hard work being rewarded. However, when you reward the wrong employees, they don’t see the benefit of working harder for the business.
Hired Persons Suffer Neglect
In most cases, when you promote or hire persons because of their connections, they end up suffering neglect at work. Other employees might ignore her in meetings. This can create a toxic work environment as employees think he or she does not deserve the position.
Final Thoughts
While nepotism at work is a bad thing, it continues to happen. Businesses should learn to employ and promote people based on their skills, hard work, and experience.
