The Problem with a "Family" Business

Calling your business a "family" is a metaphor that should be retired.

The word "family" is often thrown out in business – especially when company leaders try to convince others that their organization truly values and takes care of their employees. This is especially true in a relationship-driven industry like branded merchandise. Over and over again, when a new hire is announced on social media, it's almost surprising if the post doesn't contain some variation of "We welcome our new employee to the COMPANY X family."

Let me be clear: unless you work for and with people that you are truly related to, the company you work for is not, nor will ever be, your family.

Using – or, should I write, misusing – the family metaphor is detrimental to both your employees and your company in many ways, but these three immediately spring to mind:

1. Burnout – when companies overemphasize the family metaphor, they are (intentionally or not) implying that employees should place their commitment to the company over everything else, and it very quickly leads to expecting a family-level commitment from employees. This, in turn, creates countless opportunities for leaders to take advantage by adding one project after another without considering existing workloads. The family analogy makes it virtually impossible for an employee to say no – even when saying yes is detrimental to their mental health.

2. Behavior – even though I disappointed her numerous times, my mother never fired me for poor performance, nor did she lay me off when quarterly projections didn't hit the target metrics. While it's absurd to think that family loyalty is based on performance, companies are different. They don't employ people out of love or loyalty because, at their core, companies can't feel those things. Companies employ people because what they do provides value – at least enough to justify their compensation. Companies have to make decisions that families don't.  

3. Betrayal – in almost every instance, when an employee leaves a "family" organization, they are usually labeled as betraying everyone who remains and as the enemy. I personally had this happen when I resigned from an organization on excellent terms only to hear on multiple occasions how company leadership had branded me as a villain. Even further, they threatened to sue me if I worked at any organization they deemed a "direct competitor." That's not something a family would do.

Calling your company a family might feel good in the moment, but it's neither accurate nor useful. The vast majority of people don't really want to be part of another family; they want to be an integral part of a cohesive team bonded by a shared purpose and built on trust and respect.

You might love your company – especially if you are the owner or founder. Heck, you might even truly value, respect, and have some level of affection for your employees. However, your company is not a family because the dynamics are simply different.

It's time to stop calling your company a family.