I think it’s fair to provide unique opportunities to family members in a business, but these decisions should never create real *pain* for the business. In my experience as Gen2, I’ve had change my mindset to essentially act as though I’m not family to prevent a sense of entitlement or being too vocal on matters that aren’t my business.
No-win situations arise when other staff believe you can / cannot do certain things because you are family, such as family-vacations looked at as extra face-time with the boss or participating in social hours with coworkers as ‘one of them’.
Great comments, thanks for the feedback. To your point about changing your mindset, I often say "to be a good family business, don't act like one!" And, in the family, the "currency" is often love (vs. merit or capital in a non-family enterprise); such love plays out in the ways you mention, causing confusion and unhealthy competition for emotional time/attention...
I think it’s fair to provide unique opportunities to family members in a business, but these decisions should never create real *pain* for the business. In my experience as Gen2, I’ve had change my mindset to essentially act as though I’m not family to prevent a sense of entitlement or being too vocal on matters that aren’t my business.
No-win situations arise when other staff believe you can / cannot do certain things because you are family, such as family-vacations looked at as extra face-time with the boss or participating in social hours with coworkers as ‘one of them’.
Great comments, thanks for the feedback. To your point about changing your mindset, I often say "to be a good family business, don't act like one!" And, in the family, the "currency" is often love (vs. merit or capital in a non-family enterprise); such love plays out in the ways you mention, causing confusion and unhealthy competition for emotional time/attention...