Dr. Gleb Tsipursky – The Office Whisperer
Nirit Cohen – WorkFutures
Angela Howard – Culture Expert
Drew Jones – Design & Innovation
Jonathan Price – CRE & Flex Expert
For all the talk about meritocracy, upskilling, and AI-optimized resumes, one old-school career strategy refuses to die: knowing the right person.
“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know” may sound like a tired cliché, but nearly 73% of U.S. workers still say connections are key to getting hired, according to a new survey of working adults. And unlike Hollywood’s headline-grabbing “nepo babies,” this kind of favoritism is showing up in everyday workplaces across the country.
Nepotism, defined and redefined
Merriam-Webster defines a nepo baby as someone who gains opportunities through family connections, especially the child of a famous or powerful parent. But the survey suggests nepotism today looks far more ordinary, and far more common.
Four in ten respondents said they’ve worked at the same company as a relative at least once. In most cases, those connections weren’t distant cousins or famous parents. They were close family: parents, siblings, or immediate relatives already inside the organization.
In other words, nepotism is often quiet. Familiar. And built into hiring pipelines that rarely get examined.
Widespread, visible, and quietly influential
Nearly 70% of workers believe nepotism is widespread in the U.S. workforce, and more than half say they currently know colleagues who were hired through family ties. Another 24.7% suspect it happens without ever being openly acknowledged.
Only about one in five workers believe nepotism doesn’t exist in their workplace at all.
Despite that visibility, the practice often flies under the radar of leadership while remaining painfully obvious to employees watching opportunities pass them by.
Almost 45% say they’ve lost out on a job or promotion because it went to someone with family connections, either in their current role or a previous one.
The cost to culture, morale, and trust
Even when family hires perform well — and many do — the perception of favoritism carries a steep price.
About 54% of workers say nepotism has a negative impact on nearly every aspect of the workplace, including morale, trust in leadership, diversity, and promotion fairness. More than 60% say it drags down team morale, shakes confidence in management, and damages internal and external reputation.
Interestingly, respondents also showed nuance. Around 70% of family hires are considered a good fit for their roles. But nearly 30% are viewed as people who wouldn’t have landed the job without their connections — a gap that’s hard for teams to ignore.
Who notices nepotism most?
Men are slightly more likely to spot nepotism than women. Over 60% of men report seeing colleagues hired through family connections, compared with just over half of women. Across both groups, a significant share either sees no evidence of nepotism or isn’t sure — underscoring how subtly it can operate.
Generationally, belief in the power of connections is nearly universal. Gen Z leads the way, with nearly 77% agreeing that “who you know” matters most, followed closely by Millennials and Gen X. Even among Baby Boomers, two-thirds agree connections play a major role in hiring.
Across all generations, only a small minority believes hiring is driven primarily by skills alone.
Is it always nepotism, or just networking?
Not every referral is favoritism, and workers know the difference. Passing along a resume isn’t the same as handing someone a job. The issue, respondents suggest, is what happens after the introduction.
Having a relative pass along an application can help it reach the right desk, but from that point on, candidates still have to prove their interest, qualifications, and value. The real issue isn’t that connections exist; it’s when they take the place of transparency, accountability, and fair competition.
An old rule in a modern workplace
The modern workplace runs on algorithms, data dashboards, and AI screening tools — but hiring still runs on human trust. And trust, more often than not, flows through relationships.
For workers, that reality can feel frustrating, demoralizing, or simply unfair. For employers, it’s a warning sign: when favoritism becomes visible, culture erodes faster than productivity ever could.
“My dad knows someone” may still open doors. But whether it builds strong organizations — or weakens them — depends on what happens once those doors swing open.
