Should Your Workplace Be “Like a Family”? How to Foster Healthy Work(ing) Relationships
To say “we’re a family” in describing a workplace is an understandable impulse. After all, your team ideally does feel a sense of belonging and mutual respect in accomplishing goals—much like a supportive family would. However, family doesn’t mean the same thing to everyone, and it only takes one out-of-touch colleague’s use of the term to sour the idea of a work family for everyone else.
That said, fostering healthy workplace relationships takes more than word choice. Especially at the management level, you can’t just switch from calling employees a family to calling them a team and expect to eliminate all resentment. You must unpack the intention behind your words, then act in accordance with it.
Saying you’re a family isn’t really the problem; it’s saying you’re a family then acting the opposite way that creates tension.
So, what are you really saying?
Do you mean your team should share values, commitments, and a collective mentality? Good!
Are you just hoping to impart a sense of obligation with the words, “family” or “team”? Not good!
Unpacking your intention is the first step towards fostering actual, mutually healthy employee relationships—no matter what you call them. And that should be the overall priority.
Let’s explore the shared qualities of organizations and families as well as the qualities that can be considered distinct to each. In this article, we’ve compiled 4 areas in which a family dynamic (if not label) can improve a business or organization, and how to keep it that way.
