One thing bosses can do to strengthen teamwork at the office

One thing bosses can do to strengthen teamwork at the officeOne thing bosses can do to strengthen teamwork at the officeAll animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.Thats Orwellian logic you may know well if youve ever worked at a place where some people get all the perks, and others get all the work.The very American idea of the work family depends on maintaining the truth- or fiction - that everyone is treated equally in the workplace.I learned how quickly friends could become jealous enemiesat one of my previous jobs. When wefound out that a coupleof my co-workers wereable to work from home andleave early while the rest of us had to deal with the horrors of subway riders and overnights, we seethed.The unfairness of it all kept nagging at me. Why did I have to bea vampire who couldntsocialize or see the sun, while the favored ones kept gettingbetterdaytime hours? Why welches I gettingsquished between five subway riders with varying levels of hygiene, while o ther coworkers got to work from the comfort of their bed? What made those lucky few so special? What did they have that I didnt?I never got a satisfyinganswer and Im sure it was acause that contributed to some of my co-workers leaving.Unsurprisingly, then, studies show there is one thing bosses can do to improve teamwork and morale stop playing favorites.Favoritism the bosss worst habitThis is the toxic environment favoritism causes, and Im glad a study has come along to back me up.A recently publishedstudy in the Journal of Vocational Behaviorfound that favoritismincreased loyalty and engagement for those who received it- but it was also the root of envy and a competition that tore apart teams.An example the researchers gave would be an employee thinkingthat, my status at works depends on my performance relative to others.Researchers found that employees who witnessed their co-workers being favored felt especially jealouswhen they werent the object of favoritism as well - but the e nvy was muted when their manager showed them favor too.The study also found a correlation between being being envied and ostracism. Feeling ignored and isolated at work led to the employees decisions to leave.For companies, the employee turnover that results from favoritism by managers is a big reason to stop the practice. Hiring new employees is one of the biggest uses of managers time.Younger employees notice favoritism moreYoung employees are quick judges of favoritism. Unsurprisingly, younger employees (like me) are especially sensitive to being denied opportunities that could further our careers. Called idiosyncratic deals, these special work arrangementscould include company-sponsored training, exclusive lunches and happy hours, and customizablehours and schedules.Those are the social and professional developmental resources younger employees crave, in part because they are signs of advancement and respect.Try making specialwork arrangements less specialThese special work arra ngements for favored employees are only on the rise. Theyre increasingly being used to retain and promote top talent. In a 2011 surveyof 303 senior business executives at U.S. companies, 84% said favoritism happens in their workplace.This latest study doesnt mean that managers should stop making special arrangementsaltogether in the modern workplace. Just dont let it become so obvious that everyone else feels second-class.Even better, create an environment thats as equal as possible. We shouldfollow the lesson of what the researchers concluded employeesfelt less envious when they believedthat the deals werenegotiable and available to everyone.