Third of Bosses ‘Favour’ Certain Staff Members

Oct. 11, 2011 - PRLog -- In a bid to discover more about workplace relations, one of the UK’s fastest growing HR consultancies, http://www.Reabur.com, has conducted a study of small businesses, with an aim to discover more about employers’ attitudes towards their members of staff.

The study, conducted by http://www.Reabur.com, polled 1,092 employers of 20 or less staff. Those taking part were asked questions about how they felt about their staff, as well as questions about general relations within the workplace.

According to the study by http://www.Reabur.com, almost a third, 31% of the employers taking part admitted that they ‘favour’ certain members of their staff more so than others. Subsequently, these respondents were asked to explain their reasons for having preferences over staff members.

Of the 31% of small business owners who admitted to favouring certain members of staff, the majority, 39%, stated that they felt this way because the employee (s) had a ‘stronger work ethic’ than other members of the team. A further 11% said it was because of their ‘sense of humour in the work place’.  

2% of the respondents who stated that they favour particular staff members over others said that they did so because the member of staff’s ‘appearance’; whilst 18% said that their ‘loyalty to company’ was why they favoured them over other team members.    

Furthermore, over a quarter, 27%, of those who favoured certain employees over others, simply stated that it was because they ‘liked their personality.’

The total number of respondents were asked if they felt that they had ‘personal friendships’ with any members of their team, to which just under two thirds, 61%, said ‘Yes’. In contrast, 27% stated that they were not friends with any of their employees.

Georgina Read, Co-Managing Director of http://www.Reabur.com, said the following on the findings:

“Staff members in small businesses often form strong friendships, frequently because in smaller businesses the staff are more closely connected to the Managing Director and have a greater ability to make a real impact upon the business and its future success. In many offices everyone experiences the highs and lows that smaller businesses go through together, and strong bonds often quite naturally form.”

She continued:

“Therefore, I am not surprised that bosses join in and form strong friendships with their employees. The happiest of workplaces are often the ones where everyone gets on well as friends, and these are often the ones that work better as a result. Whilst we would never condone favouritism amongst employers, it is human nature to be drawn to certain people. Business owners and Managers just need to be careful that no favouritism is shown, as this can be severely detrimental to the morale of the team.”

LINK: http://www.Reabur.com

ENDS

For further information on www.Reabur.com, or to arrange an interview with Kirsty Burgess or Kirsty Burgess, please contact Charlotte Horsfall of 10 Yetis Public Relations Agency on charlotte@10yetis.co.uk.  

Editor’s Notes

Reabur are a team of chartered Human Resource professionals and accredited mediators, the core values if the business is taking on the 'people' challenges within a business.

Reabur provide the Human Resources function for both small and large businesses. The consultancy specialise in:

•   Advise what companies can do to enhance the business through the employees, thus providing a platform to increase profits.

•   Provide options on how to tackle performance, sickness and conduct within the workplace, therefore improving productivity.

•   Educate businesses with regards to employment law.

•   Resolve workplace conflict through tried and tested methods of mediation.