According to results from MSPB’s 2011 Federal Merit Systems Survey, employees frequently suspect that supervisors “play favorites” and base their decisions on factors other than work-related criteria.1 So why does this happen? Do supervisors disregard their responsibilities under the Merit System Principles (MSPs) and provide unfair advantages for favored employees? Or do employees sometimes make incorrect assumptions?
Our research indicates that several factors frequently contribute to employee perceptions of favoritism:
- Intentional favoritism. A supervisor knowingly provides an advantage to an applicant or employee based on inappropriate non-merit factors;
- Unintentional favoritism. A supervisor takes an ill-advised action or makes a flawed decision absent intentional wrongdoing; and
- Misinterpretation or misinformation. Employees or other observers may perceive favoritism even when a decision is truly merit-based, perhaps due to a lack of transparency or when the presence of a legitimate professional relationship leads to suspicion that a supervisor was influenced by non-merit factors.
Most Federal employees (59 percent) believe favoritism involves an intentional decision, motivated by the supervisor’s desire to value friendship or loyalty over competence. Intentional favoritism can occur when a supervisor rewards employees based on close, personal relationships or similarity to the supervisor or an employee’s ingratiation efforts.
Although cited less frequently than intentional favoritism, employees also noted the existence of factors that could lead to unintentional favoritism. Specifically, employees thought unintentional favoritism could be caused by a supervisor’s lack of knowledge or understanding (38 percent) or lack of good decision-making tools (32 percent). Unintentional favoritism can also occur through a mechanism similar to intentional bias but without the supervisor’s awareness. For example, a supervisor may demonstrate unconscious bias by unintentionally favoring employees with whom the supervisor feels a higher comfort level due to similarity in terms of factors such as culture, class, background, and experiences.
On other occasions, there may be a misperception by employees. Professional relationships may exist that do not conflict with the merit systems or a supervisor may justly provide more opportunities to those who demonstrate the ability and motivation to take on new roles. When asked to identify critical factors in their career advancement,2 85 percent of Federal employees identified “A supportive supervisor to encourage my development and advancement” and a “Senior person/mentor (other than my supervisor) looking out for my interests” as the two factors with the most positive impact on their career advancement. The fifth most popular response, which was expressed by 78 percent of the respondents, involved “Contacts who knew the selecting official and recommended me.” As a result, three of the top five reported influences on career advancement involved professional relationships between employees and another party who provided individualized attention and assistance. While the presence of supportive professional relationships does not necessarily indicate favoritism, supervisors should be aware of possible misperceptions regarding the fairness of their decisions after dealing with applicants who are known to them through personal or professional networks or when distributing scarce resources among employees.
A supervisor’s actions can be perceived as: 1) intentional favoritism; 2) unintentional favoritism; 3) reflecting both merit and favoritism, particularly when there is an existing professional or personal connection; or 4) simply merit-based. It is critical, therefore, for supervisors and observers to strive for a shared perspective that conforms to the high expectations of the merit system principles.
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- Fifty-three percent of employees suspected supervisors in their organization demonstrated favoritism, while 28 percent thought their own supervisor was guilty of this.
- U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, Fair and Equitable Treatment: Progress Made and Challenges Remaining, 2009, pp. 47-50
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Reprinted from Issues of Merit, a publication of the Office of Policy and Evaluation, U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board