As part of a research paper entitled «Legitimacy, Particularism and Employee Commitment and Justice» and published in the journal Journal of Business Ethics, journal 4* NEOMA (Rang 1 FNEGE, Rang2 CNRS), Helena González-Gómez, Professor in the Department of People & Organizations, in collaboration with Sarah Hudson and Cyrlene Claasen (Rennes School of Business), examine the practice of favouritism in companies and its impact on employee engagement.
Today you can be proud! This is your first day in your new company! You’ve seduced your new employer with your skills and now it’s time to show what you can do… You talk to another employee at the coffee machine: he shamelessly states that he is the treasurer’s nephew and that this is why he recently joined the company. How would you react in this situation? What if finally your company practiced favouritism rather than meritocracy!
This paper, written by Helena González-Gómez and her co-authors, analyses the difference between the two models of managerial practices and their impact on employee engagement. “Overall, the results are clear: when your company’s Human Resources department favours more than it leaves room for meritocracy, it clearly has a negative impact on engagement. Employees feel de facto less involved and less concerned because they feel they are being treated unfairly by their employer. A result that has no impact on whether or not you have benefited from the system.”
