The unfortunate death of the Bollywood actor Sushant Sigh Rajput raised a big debate on the issue of nepotism and favouritism in Bollywood which was further followed by boycotting movies of many other Bollywood actors. This issue shook the whole social media and people strongly criticized Bollywood for this practice but nepotism doesn’t only exist in Bollywood but rather engulfs almost all sectors of our society.
What are Nepotism and Favoritism?
Favouritism is a broader concept than nepotism which simply means favouring someone not because of their skills but rather of personal biases like likes, dislikes or relatedness etc.
Favoritism has always been a major complaint in government services where according to a 2002 survey there were only 36.1% of employees thought that their promotions were based on merit others rather believed that it was mostly based on likeness, connections, and relatedness with the upper management.
On the other hand, nepotism is a narrow form of favouritism itself which is derived from the Italian word nephew, it links favouritism to the family members. Nepotism got fame from Bollywood but its impact can be very destructive in workplaces also and can create a lot of chaos. It demotivates many talented people too.
Types of Nepotism
There are mainly four types of nepotism:
Political nepotism- Mostly promotes their extended relatives in posts
Administrative nepotism- Appoints or promotes their family or friends in government jobs.
Nepotism in the economic sector- The owner of joint-stock companies promotes their blood-related members for decision-making positions.
Nepotism in the entertainment industry- In the film industry producers\directors take star kids in their movies rather than hardworking struggling actors.
How Nepotism thrives in Society
Nepotism thrives through selfish lobbying in various sectors of Society. The issue of nepotism comes with many downfalls which include the degradation of the ethics and moral degeneration of society and institutions. Another problem of nepotism is that it is often left out of ethics codes because it doesn’t seem unethical to the majority of the population.
It is very common in every society. Nepotism leads to serious harm to the principle of equality of opportunity in every field where it is practised the most viral example is Bollywood- a field often bullied because of its raising and clear nepotism. It can be seen as the perfect example of nepotism where the kids of celebrities mostly snatch the opportunities of talented struggling actors.
It leads to a lack of fairness as the principle of operation. Corruption is also a big fallout of nepotism. There is a symbiotic relationship between nepotism and corruption.
Impact of Nepotism and Favoritism in Workplaces
It works negatively in many workplaces. It leads to a very toxic work environment where employees feel demotivated and stressed after recognizing favouring towards one employee.
It also affects employees’ relations with each other. Other employees might feel that they wouldn’t be recognized or appreciated for how much they do which directly lowers their morale and productivity in the firm.
Another drawback in the firms is that they might even plan to change their jobs which leads to high employee turnover and which also affects the reputation of the company. Employees are the main people who can make or destroy the reputation of companies after customers. There might be chances where ex-employees might not recommend the company to others also.
Dealing with Nepotism
There can be many ways to deal with Nepotism. Some of them are:
1. To first develop an active anti-nepotism policy.
This should be included in the employee’s handbook and part of their leadership training. Strong anti-nepotism policies should be applied in every department to ensure that everyone is working fairly.
2. To always maintain detailed job descriptions.
Companies need to maintain detailed files of every employee they appoint so that there can be trust in employees in their companies. The files should have a full description of employees including their skills, work experience, past companies etc.
3. Conduct manager (or leadership) training.
another important point is to train every company's manager in a way that they know the difference between right and wrong and speak for the right of other employees. They should use their practice at work to be fair to everyone else.
Written By- Kirti Garg
Edited By- Rumela Gupta
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