Why You Don’t Want To Be Your Boss’s Favorite
By: Obaro Aziza
Have you ever wished your boss really liked you? Have you ever desired to be a favorite of your boss at work? I think at some point in our careers, we all have had that silent craving.
Being a favorite obviously comes with some benefits, for example you may be able to get a bit more attention from your boss than your peers, you may also be granted access to certain rights and information. The benefits are numerous, however there are some negative aspects of being your boss’s favorite.
We would be looking at some of the negative effects of being preferred over your colleagues. Pay close attention to the following points.
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Subjective performance appraisal
Especially when your boss is directly involved in your performance rating, there is a very high tendency for your performance appraisals to come out right. It is not uncommon for bosses to rate employees they like higher than their actual performances and higher than their colleagues. Bosses and subordinates must ensure that they remain professional on their jobs irrespective of the relationships that exist amongst them. Organizations must also ensure proper performance appraisal systems are in place to avoid subjectivism.
Envy form colleagues
Your colleagues become very envious of you once they notice that you are the boss’s top choice, especially if the likeness is very obvious. Everyone wants to win the heart of their boss, most seek approval and would go any length to please their boss. This places you at the center of discussions and office gossips, envious colleagues start distancing themselves from you. This may not be healthy for you at work as you would need the corporation of your colleagues to function well at work.
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Tendency to relax
One very negative effect this has on employees is the tendency for preferred employees to relax. If you are not a very goal-driven and determined person, you may take advantage of this relationship with your boss and become slack in your responsibilities. When you have the assurance that you cannot get sanctioned and that your performance appraisal will turn out fine, there is a tendency to fall back. Bosses must ensure that their likeness for certain employees do not cause such employees to be slack in delivering results as expected.
Becoming too familiar
What we usually refer to as over familiarity, I remember a mentor saying “the worst thing that can happen to any employee is getting too familiar with their boss”, he was totally right. You don’t want to get too familiar with your boss because you may be disappointed one day. When you are a favorite of your boss, there is the temptation to get very familiar with them. You must be careful to control yourself so you don’t get surprised.
We may not be able to totally eradicate favoritism in the office, we can do a lot to ensure that it does not affect productivity in our workplaces.
About the Author
Obaro Aziza is an HR professional with specialties in Learning and Development, Training Facilitation, Talent Acquisition, Business Partnering, Performance Management, Talent Management, HR and Business Consulting, Business Development, Strategy, Business Analysis, Business writing.
You can reach him on LinkedIn here.
