But that&#x27;s a different problem altogether.  That goes beyond what people mean by &quot;merit&quot;.<p>Yes, people only hiring people for whom they feel affinity is somewhat of an issue.  I say somewhat, because it can be problematic working with people who understand things differently --say working with people who have a union attitude vs people who have a work at will attitude.<p>So, I understand the &quot;I&#x27;d have beer with them&quot; kind of thing even though it does bother me.  I don&#x27;t drink beer and I&#x27;m not into peer dynamics.  But I understand why people might be into that.<p>That said, merit typically means not hiring someone just because they&#x27;re friends, family, owed a favor, seniority, strict ethnic affinity (which happened and happens in lots of immigrant communities, of old and new), belong to some specific group, etc.