Nepotism remains a persistent organizational challenge that can undermine fairness, employee morale, and workplace motivation. This study investigates the impact of nepotism on employee motivation within public sector institutions in Soran. Specifically, the research examines how dimensions of nepotism, favoritism, unequal workload distribution, cronyism, and negative working environments affect employees' motivation and related outcomes such as turnover intention, employee performance, job satisfaction, and organizational trust. A descriptive analytical approach was employed, and the study adopted a quantitative research design. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire consisting of 48 items measuring the study variables from employees working in selected public sector institutions in the Soran independent administration, with a total of 453 questionnaires collected. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS statistical software, applying correlation and regression analysis to test the proposed hypotheses. The findings reveal that nepotism has a significant negative impact on employee motivation, reducing job satisfaction and organizational trust while increasing employees' intentions to leave their organizations. These findings highlight the importance of transparent and merit-based management practices for sustaining employee motivation and organizational effectiveness. Keywords: Nepotism, Employee Motivation, Organizational Trust, Public Sector, Soran Independent Administration.
