University of Washington Human Resources

Favoritism in the workplace is exactly what it sounds like: favoring someone not because he or she is doing a great job, but for reasons outside of the job performance. For instance, a manager consistently offers an employee the best and most highly-regarded projects, even though that employee does not perform well enough to deserve them. Or perhaps an employee is offered a promotion over someone else who has been at the company longer and has more experience.

Oftentimes, favoritism occurs when a manager and an employee have developed a friendship beyond the workplace. Examples of favoritism in the workplace are when two coworkers worked together previously and have a shared history, or maybe they have bonded over common outside interests, like sports or music.

defined under the law. However, employees should not, and managers must not, tolerate inappropriate behavior in the workplace. The Postal Service does not.

Fraternization occurs when two people employed by the same company interact socially outside of work and at employer functions. Depending on your company’s policy, fraternization can include romantic relations between managers and subordinates and relationships between co-workers. Fraternization in the workplace is often frowned upon because it can negatively affect work performance and might compromise the integrity of the company. Workflow disruptions and charges of favoritism often arise with employee fraternization.

You may get fired if the fraternization interferes with your work or goes against company policy. Many companies have policies designed specifically to combat fraternization. These policies are enforced by management and human resources departments.