How to fight nepotism?

[Martinus]

Poland is now having another nepotism scandal, with friends and family of politicians getting well paid jobs in the government bureaucracy and stuff controlled by the state and municipalities (e.g. hospitals, schools, state owned companies etc.)

So I wanted to ask whether nepotism is ubiquitous in your countries and if not, how do you prevent it?

[Martim Silva]

In Portugal, it is the norm - you *cannot* reach certain levels in our society unless you're born into the 'right' families. If you're not a highborn, forget about the top spots. Personal merit is irrelevant.

The highborns, of course, are appointed regardless of merit - they regard those places as rightfully theirs/of their families.

Our current PM, for example, only had a real job at age 37 - before that, when he left the univerity he was appointed city councillor by his family's friends at the Social Democratic Party for 4 years (and he never bothered to show up at city hall), and then he spent the next 10 years as VP in his Fathers' company (where he never did anything except get a huge paycheck at the end of the month). Only at 37 did he took a high position at one of his daddy's friends' company.

[The Brain]

Government people giving their friends and relatives jobs isn't a huge problem in Sweden. Sure it happens but it's not the traditional Swedish way of being corrupt.

And of course generally speaking Sweden has only minor problems with corruption compared with the world average.

[Iormlund]

So I wanted to ask whether nepotism is ubiquitous in your countries...

Yes.

[Barrister]

Hardly ubiquitous, but it does happen.  It can be a particular problem in the rather nebulous world of political appointments.

Your run of the mill public service opening has a large, professional process for hiring people which is supposed to weed out any such thing.  And by and large it does a good job of it.  But you have a number of positions, which in overall proportion are small, but still constitute a fair number, which are appointed directly by cabinet.  Heads of various tribbunals, judges, that kind of thing.  And the temptation to make a nepotism appointment is high.

That being said... there is some merit to nepotism.  If I'm hiring for my company, I know that my nephew is likely to be more loyal to the company than a stranger.  I know that if I hire my trusted employee's wife, that means they are both more likely to stay.

As long as the potential nepotee (is that a word?) is qualified.  Trouble is when you hire an unqualified family member...

[CountDeMoney]

Can't fight it short of guillotines.

[Crazy_Ivan80]

Can't fight it short of guillotines.

and even then, as the executioner will most likely be someone who got the position thanks to his uncle.

[crazy canuck]

Here sons of politicians seem to think they should also be politicians.  But at least the electorate has to agree.

[alfred russel]

I know that if I hire my trusted employee's wife, that means they are both more likely to stay.

Danger! If you lose one (such as if you have to terminate one, have a disagreement leading to a resignation, general job dissatisfaction, etc.) you will probably lose both.

But you have a point.

[crazy canuck]

I know that if I hire my trusted employee's wife, that means they are both more likely to stay.

What you know for sure is that your trusted employee now has divided loyalty.  That sort of thing always has problems.

[ulmont]

I know that if I hire my trusted employee's wife, that means they are both more likely to stay.

Danger! If you lose one (such as if you have to terminate one, have a disagreement leading to a resignation, general job dissatisfaction, etc.) you will probably lose both.

Also, if they divorce, one of them's probably moving on.

[MadImmortalMan]

In my company there are firewall rules about this. It's a big no-no to have family members working with you. We did however, hire one gay guy's boyfriend. They've been living together for like ten years so I guess they'd be married if they could. Lucky for them they can't or the second guy couldn't work there. He just got promoted actually.

[alfred russel]

I know that if I hire my trusted employee's wife, that means they are both more likely to stay.

Danger! If you lose one (such as if you have to terminate one, have a disagreement leading to a resignation, general job dissatisfaction, etc.) you will probably lose both.

Also, if they divorce, one of them's probably moving on.

Or worse, both stay put. 

[dps]

I don't see nepotism in private businesses as being a problem.  I mean, it might be a problem in an individual company if the family members being hired are incompetant or trouble-makers or somesuch, but it's not a problem for society as a whole, and it's not something that's appropriate for society to attempt to fight.

Nepotism in government hiring is a different story.

[CountDeMoney]

I don't see nepotism in private businesses as being a problem.

Maybe not "family" nepotism, but certainly "friends" nepotism.

but it's not a problem for society as a whole, and it's not something that's appropriate for society to attempt to fight.

The fuck it isn't.