By: Shawn Mars

Workplace favoritism is an unfortunate roadblock for organizations striving to foster equitable environments. Favoritism erodes employee trust in their superiors, which leads to less productivity and engagement. A workplace favoritism study1 revealed that 47% of American employees believed their supervisor had favorites. This practice can particularly happen during the time-off approval process when managers get to select which employees receive priority for days off. So, how can companies ensure they’re not letting favoritism influence whose time off they approve?

In Forrester Consulting’s recent Total Economic Impact™ study commissioned by Paycom, the firm evaluated Paycom’s innovative GONEⓇ  tool, which automates time-off decisioning based on pre-defined company criteria. The predefined nature of the decisioning tool prevents employee favoritism allowed by subjective managerial decisions.

Understanding the Challenge

Favoritism stems from bias, both implicitly and subconsciously. This bias can create an inequitable work environment, leading to higher turnover rates, lower morale and reduced overall organizational performance. Traditional systems frequently lack transparency and accountability, allowing such dynamics to persist unchecked.

Employees who feel overlooked may feel less motivated, contributing to a cycle of underperformance or even resignation. A 2021 McKinsey study found that 52% of people who quit their jobs did so in part because they didn’t feel valued by their managers. Conversely, those perceived as favorites might face pressure to meet high expectations, leading to burnout. Both scenarios hinder organizational growth and innovation, making favoritism a critical issue for leaders to address.

The “GONE” Solution

GONE is designed to address these issues by allowing organizations to automate the time-off approval process, setting a variety of time-off decision-making criteria for timely resolutions that abide by company policies and meet departmental needs. That means no more mediating time-off disputes or keeping employees in the dark. And once GONE is set up, Paycom’s single software automates the rest. The tool configures time-off decisioning rules, adding consistency and transparency to the time-off decision process. Its data-driven approach streamlines the process, enhances organizational efficiency and leaves employees feeling valued and respected.

Let’s dive into the study’s findings on how GONE combats workplace favoritism.

Impact of GONE on Workplace Favoritism

GONE enhances the employee experience by replacing manual processes with standardized rules, reducing favoritism-related disputes between managers and employees.

In the 2024 Forrester study, a director of human resources for a retail company and Paycom client shared how GONE makes it so there is virtually no way to show preference for one employee over another. “I heard stories from employees where they believed their supervisor was not treating all the staff in the store equally as far as approving time-off requests, whether it was giving the employee with the most seniority first choice or something like that. They didn’t feel like they were getting an even shake when it came to their time-off requests. With GONE set up, that is not an issue.”

GONE also removed the potential friction of in-person requests for time off, as employees can submit time off from their phones.

“It doesn’t matter if you’ve been here a year or if you’ve been here 20 years,” the director added. With [Paycom’s] GONE, I know that all PTO requests are going to be handled instantly and fairly, without considering which individual is requesting it.”

You can read the full study about GONE’s impact on businesses and their employees at paycom.com.

1 Li, M. (2016). Coming back to vertical dyad theory: The consequences of perceived workplace favoritism (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI.

Published by Anne C.