Every office has one or more of these people. These are the whiners, the constant drip in the boss's ear. They appear to be attentive to their jobs, but you find them butting into most conversations and listening in to the others. They are the ones that are constantly seeking "fairness" in the work place. They usually have an agenda of some sort for their personal career goals. They will go to the boss with every little thing, especially if they want the person's job that they are complaining about.

What is "fairness in the work place"? Well, that tends to get defined differently by different people. For the spoiler, they want to make sure they get at least is much of anything as anyone else. Many people realize that this is an unrealistic view and not tenable.

Let's give some examples of how the spoiler works:

A person gets a job with a company due to a previous relationship with that manager at a different company. This is a common event among management teams, which tend to move in packs, but can also occur in lesser positions. That person will usually receive favorable treatment at their new job because of the established history with their boss. The person came to the new company because the conditions were favorable compared to the old job. The spoil is the person that comes in and complains about any and all special treatment that the other person may enjoy.

This may include: Scheduling, seat assignment, off-shift responsibilities, promotion opportunities, etc.

That seems like a fairly begnin list of things that should be dealt with fairly. It would appear, initially, that the spoiler may have legitimate cause.

What if, using the first item, scheduling means that a person took this new job because they kept the Jewish Sabbath and the new role was taken under the condition of never having to work on that day. Or they are a devout Catholic and refuse to work on Sunday. These were favorable conditions that were granted to the person at hire time and a key condition in accepting the role.

The spoiler comes in and complains that, "It's not fair that they get "XXXX" day off and I can't." Next thing you know the reason the job was taken is gone, everyone is working on weekends. The spoiler got half of what they wanted, the other person doe snot have their negotiated shift off anymore, but neither do they.

Even more important is that the person who was hired under those conditions will very likely seek other employment where those conditions do exist.

Typically those that are receiving special favorable treatment get it because of an established pattern of work. A pattern that goes beyond minimum job responsibilities. They were a desirable employee with a proven track record and, often , a known work history.

Most of us were told when growing up that if we work hard and do our best, our employer's will notice that and reward us. The spoiler does not believe that because it appears to create favoratism towards certain individuals and "that's not fair".

I would argue that it is fair. The favorite who has earned that role through perfomance should be esteemed. The spoiler will say they are brown nosing and kissing @$$ to others in order to undermine the person in the eyes of other staff and managers.

Life is unfair.  If it were fair, I would be retired right now. If it were fair, alot of things in my life would have been different. What is fair is that life is universally unfair, often rewarding the lesser person to encourage them, and restraining the excellent person to prevent the lesser from "feeling bad".  Often times the person that does their job "too well" cannot be promoted because they are too valuable in their role.

Sometimes, the spoilers get promoted.  This is usually because the boss did not have objective criteria to judge performance by and they assumed the person was doing well because they were looking at all the negative aspects of others - highlighted by the spoiler.

There are spoilers in every environment where more than two people work together. Innevitably someone will feel that that another person is getting better treatment. They probably are. The better treated person also probably put more effort into their work: worked over time off the clock, took on additional responsibilities outside their position's as-hired-definition.

In the end the spoilers rarely get what they want. Instead, they undermine the environment and bring the whole down to their level. Often times the spiler will be around for years, while good staff get tired of not being able to work their way into better work situations or losing the negotiated conditions they were hired under.   Water seeks the lowest level.  Mediocrity will breed mediocrity. It is a rare thing for the top tier to pull up those who are spoilers, usually the whole batch is damaged.

Staff management on a social-poitical level gets to be very complex.  But watching for spilers, and either correcting or removing the behaviour early can be key to building, maintaining, and retaining a strong team.