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Working In Your Family’s Business Isn’t the Fairytale Everybody Thinks It Is!
December 7, 2007
From a lofty perch, assuming a job in the family’s business is the payoff of the lucky sperm lottery. Indeed, most of us would think employment in our family’s business would be a no-brainer, golden spoon opportunity, too good to be true. The concept of a guaranteed job at your beck and call, working in harmonious bliss with family and friends with ultimate flexibility and extraordinary pay, is a fairy tale.
The fact is what may seem easy from a distance is minimally a formidable challenge and potentially an unfulfilling and emotionally draining ordeal. The challenges generally come from three sectors:
To offer quick back ground, Family Member Employees (FMEs) are “tweeners,” neither owner-operators nor common law employees.
- Owner-operators lead the business through their experience and ownership authority and employees run the business through the respect they have earned and the authority they have been delegated.
- In contrast family member employees have generally been given a job not solely based upon qualifications and experience but because of a family relationship with the owner/operator. Additionally, on the job family member employees cannot be subject to the cold accountability of an employee or the entitlement of a family member.
Usually Family Member Employees begin their careers working with employees without their respect of being worthy to having their job. Subsequently, any mistakes are magnified as evidence of ineptitude and any achievements are diminished as the byproduct of having the family advantage.
For example, when the Family Member Employee goes to the catacombs of the business to get out from under the family microscope they encounter the demeaning comments and attitudes of employees who know very well that they did not go through an interview, provide references and/or pass various tests to get their cushy job. Just prior to feeling the comfort of being free of family scrutiny, they realize that the employees who they considered friends will actually take comfort and a sense of justice if they fail.
To make life even more exciting for Family Member Employees, owner-operators generally do not adequately express expectations as to how they are to behave. The normal assumption is that employed children, siblings or in-laws should never embarrass the family and that they should instinctively know when to portray confidence vs. humility; initiative vs. caution; leadership vs. collaboration, and enthusiasm vs. control. Invariably, mind reading skills are considered a requirement the average Family Member Employee.
As tweeners, there appears to be no place for Family Member Employees to find respect or contentment. But don’t jump the rail just yet! There is purpose to this dilemma and ways of coping that I will discuss in my next contribution.
Posted by Loyd Rawls on December 7, 2007 | Comments (0)
