Why Does My Boss Keep Calling My Team A Family?
Kent R.
Q. I don't have a question as much as a very short rant. My boss keeps calling our team a family, and I hate it!
A. Okay, so I'm not a big fan either.
It's very possible your boss is just trying to build a sense of connection among the team. (I know that's what your boss is trying to do.) It's a worthy goal, but there are more effective, meaningful ways of accomplishing that.
It's also possible that your boss is doing something less admirable, whether intentional or not.
Using terms like family and community to describe a workgroup is one way that organizations drive a culture of Workism. And if you've been around here a while, you know that Workism is something we talk about a lot.
Companies and team leaders appropriate terms like “family” to make you feel more endeared to the organization. Like, if you perceive your organization or workgroup as a family, you'll treat them more like your (biological or chosen) family.
In other words, you'll give more of yourself, you'll forgive a lot, and you'll ask less in return.
It's important to remember that employment is inherently transactional, and that's okay. You do work, you make money.
You can still have a great deal of appreciation for your organization.
You can still have warm, collaborative, and supportive relationships with your team.
You can still care about the people you work with and around.
But that doesn't make them family. And it doesn't mean you have to call yourselves family.