Happy Thursday, everyone. I'm Frank Richardson, an organisational psychologist observing the workplace with curiosity and care. Each week, I share insights to help HR leaders better understand the people behind the processes and build cultures where both individuals and organisations can thrive.
This week in workplace whiplash 🌀
A few stories this week that quietly signal where power is shifting at work:
🤖 AI Is Now a Job Requirement
Companies like Google, Meta and Amazon are increasingly treating AI fluency as a baseline expectation rather than a bonus skill. Being “AI-curious” is quickly moving from impressive to assumed, and those who resist may find themselves looking outdated rather than principled
👉HR Executive🚀 When HR Ends Up in Court
A former SpaceX employee has filed suit alleging HR “failed her at every turn” in handling workplace complaints. It’s a stark reminder that when trust in internal processes collapses, disputes rarely disappear quietly, and instead escalate publicly.
👉HRD🎓 The Education-to-Employment Gap Isn’t Closing
HR leaders in Oklahoma report ongoing struggles to bridge the gap between what education systems deliver and what employers expect from new hires. “Job-ready” sounds simple, until you try to define it.
👉SHRM
And speaking of shifting expectations and shifting belief… let’s talk about what happens when a nepo baby lands in your org chart.
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You know the moment. The new recruits are being introduced and everyone’s pretending to listen while quietly scanning the bios. Impressive CVs, good universities, the usual corporate language about impact and influence.
And then one profile lands a bit differently.
The experience feels thin. The trajectory oddly fast. Someone mentions a familiar surname and suddenly it clicks.
Ah… that’s the boss’s daughter’s new boyfriend.
He’s the modern nepo baby; the Hailey Bieber of the workplace. And while not celebrity offspring, he’s a jarring reminder that connections still beat credentials sometimes.
And this isn’t a rare phenomenon. A recent survey reported by HR Executive found that nearly 70 percent of workers believe nepotism is common in their workplace, and 45 percent say they’ve personally lost a job or promotion because of it.
That level of belief reshapes how people interpret every future decision.
🧠The behavioural science lens
Nepotism irritates teams, but the deeper shift happens in what they believe about how advancement works:
Perceived loss triggers stronger reactions than unfair gain: Behavioural research shows people experience losses more intensely than equivalent gains. When a role feels like it should have been available on merit but appears relationship-driven, employees often experience that as a loss (even if they were never formally in the running).
We instinctively compare trajectories: Social comparison theory explains that people evaluate their own standing by comparing themselves to others. When a less-qualified colleague advances quickly, it alters how others interpret their own progress.
Fair process determines trust: Research on fair process shows that employees accept difficult decisions when criteria are transparent and consistently applied. When a promotion appears relationship-driven, confidence in the system weakens.
Fairness lives in perception: Workplace fairness is experienced psychologically, not procedurally. Employees evaluate signals, compare trajectories and draw conclusions about what really drives success. Once they suspect that relationships outweigh merit, every fast-tracked career becomes further evidence.
Nepotism erodes organisational climate: Research links nepotism and favouritism to poorer organisational climate and reduced trust. When people see preferential treatment, collaboration becomes more guarded and cohesion weakens.
🚀What this means for leaders
If employees believe advancement is relationship-driven rather than merit-driven, performance systems start to wobble.
Design for legitimacy, not just defensibility: Having criteria is not the same as having credibility. Employees watch how decisions are made, who speaks in the room, and whose input carries weight. When processes feel performative rather than principled, belief erodes even if compliance boxes are ticked.
Separate relationships from decisions: Networks are normal. Favouritism is not. If you cannot clearly explain why a hire or promotion would have happened without the relationship, you are borrowing trust from the rest of the team. And trust is not an infinite resource.
Actively defend the social contract: Meritocracy only works if employees believe performance drives progression. Leaders reinforce that belief by making criteria explicit, inviting scrutiny and applying standards consistently, especially when relationships are involved.
💬 Final thoughts
Hollywood made “nepo baby” a joke, but inside organisations, it lands differently.
When people start to suspect that connections matter more than competence, they adjust how they read every decision that follows. Promotions feel less impressive. Explanations feel less convincing. “High potential” starts to sound like shorthand for something else.
And once belief in how advancement works begins to wobble, everything else is interpreted through that lens.
And that is far harder to fix than a single questionable hire.
How's the depth of today's edition?
If something here speaks to you, I’d love to hear it.
Until next week,
Frank
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