If you have been observed a job orientation program or became a part of an open job posting in the past decade, you might have observed that the word “family” is commonly described to define company culture.
The hiring managers often state “welcome to the family” or “we are a family that works towards common missions and goals of the company.”
Well, there is no doubt to say that we spend considerable time at work and develop functional relationships with our co-workers. In addition, they provide us with consistent emotional support and friendship to grow in our careers. So, it makes sense that your workplace relationships mirror your family connections.
But how they serve you in the long run truly depends upon the work culture of your organization.
Experts at Global Investment Strategies reveal that calling the workplace a “family” is generally the biggest organizational mistake that high-performing teams and managers make. Although some aspects of leading a family culture, such as care, empathy, respect, etc., may add value, many others can be psychologically harmful and devastating.
How does family culture become harmful for employees?
Employers are always interested in hiring high-performing, productive and competent candidates that can produce better results. But adding the word “family” to work culture may cause some adverse effects, and the employees may fail to meet the top-level expectations. The commonly observed toxic effects of family culture include:
- The blurring of personal and professional lines
We already know that the meaning of family is usually different for different people. But in a professional context, people always want their personal lives to be separate from professional life. But when the managers promote family culture, the private life is often included in the conversations to lead to socialization. Although this culture can enhance emotional attachment between co-workers while reducing disagreements and conflicts in the organization, it can be more challenging in a hybrid or virtual environment. For example, when people are working remotely, the managers cannot see everyone’s report individually, and they may find it difficult to trust if all of them are working. In such scenarios, it is better to prioritize work output instead of outcomes to measure employee efforts.
- A harmful exaggerated sense of loyalty
When you require a significant commitment from a family member, you can rely on them. But when we talk about work environments, loyalty is rarely justified as co-workers’ expectations vary before and after a job is done. Moreover, studies also show that overly loyal people often get indulged in some unethical tasks to maintain their job profiles, and they may get exploited by employers at some stage. For example, the employees may be asked to work for unreasonable hours, affecting their mentality, productivity, and performance.
Employers are advised to pay more attention to purpose instead of high performance to avoid the toxic effects of family culture at work. Instead, it is better to set clear boundaries for employment and support your employees in their professional journey.