Does your boss play favorites at work? Here’s how it can backfire: A new study found that when managers praise one employee too much, it can make that person start acting like a jerk to everyone else.
They might act arrogant, like they’re better than you. They could even start handing out orders, or acting like they rank higher than you when they don’t.
So should bosses and managers play it safe, and just stop praising people altogether? Obviously not. But they should try to dole out those compliments as evenly as possible.
If you go above and beyond, your boss should still acknowledge the good work. They just might need to make sure they don’t single you out too much. Saying something specific like, “You did a great job on that project” is better than a broad statement about how good of a worker you are in general.
According to the study, managers should be mindful that “how they treat their employees has an impact on how the employees treat each other.”
