Been here for 19 yrs & the nepo babies just keep being hired !!! W/O naming names, there is this RVP who hired his best friend who became RVP. Then, the first RVP hired his nephew who was a disaster that lasted 4 yrs then hired his next door neighbor & she lasted 9 months. I believe RVPs are still there & the second one is incompentent. Lacks basic skills. Terrible hiring manager. Turnover under them is like 200%. But keeps getting pay increases and raises b/c they are best buddies.
Nepotism* is the practice of giving preferential treatment to relatives or close personal connections, especially when it comes to jobs, promotions or other opportunities. In a workplace setting, nepotism occurs when personal relationships influence hiring, advancement or day-to-day decisions, often at the expense of fairness and business transparency.
That favoritism can take many forms, including:
Bypassing formal hiring processes
Awarding promotions or raises without clear justification
Assigning desirable projects to favored employees
Offering preferred schedules and flexibility
Erica Salmon Byrne, chief strategy officer and executive chair at Ethisphere, shared a straightforward example: If a hiring manager fills an open role by quietly hiring a family member — without posting the job or considering other candidates — that’s a clear case of nepotism.
Research shows just how common — and impactful — these dynamics can be. Opportunity Insights, Harvard’s economic mobility research group, found that nearly one in three Americans will work for a parent’s employer at least once by age 30. In those cases, young workers earn about 20 percent higher wages than their peers without the same connections.
Types of nepotism
Nepotism doesn’t always look the same. In most workplaces, it tends to fall into a few common patterns. Understanding those differences can help you identify what’s actually happening and why it may be causing problems.
- Reciprocal nepotism
Reciprocal nepotism occurs when a family member or close connection is offered a role and accepts it because of personal obligations rather than qualifications. This often stems from cultural expectations, loyalty to family or a desire to preserve relationships. When favoritism goes unchecked, reciprocal nepotism can become “just the way things work,” making it harder to draw clear lines around hiring and promotion decisions.
- Entitlement nepotism
Entitlement nepotism happens when someone believes they deserve a job, promotion or special treatment simply because of their relationship to someone in power. This form is most common in family-owned or closely held businesses, where lines between ownership and management can overlap. Employees affected by entitlement nepotism may assume advancement is guaranteed, regardless of performance, which can be particularly damaging to morale and accountability.
- Cronyism
Cronyism looks a lot like nepotism, even if family isn’t involved. It shows up when leaders keep hiring or promoting people they already know, such as former colleagues, friends or longtime contacts, instead of looking for the most skilled candidate and the strongest company culture fit. Over time, those choices can close off opportunities for everyone else.
- Organizational nepotism
Organizational nepotism is a quieter form of favoritism rooted in internal loyalty. Leaders turn to the same familiar people, often former colleagues, and the same names appear again and again when new roles open up. Over time, employees notice when opportunities for advancement slow — or stop altogether.
- Reverse nepotism
Reverse nepotism describes situations where power dynamics are distorted by external relationships. For example, if a manager supervises the CEO’s child, they may hesitate to give honest feedback or enforce standards out of concern for retaliation or job security.