Workplace as Family

In 2024 I think we are all agreed that Companies + leaders should not encourage workers to treat the workplace as ‘a family’. This said, Thinking Again, I want us to be compassionate with those who conflate the work/family space.

🥵 When you do work that is not mainstream, especially difficult, and/or serves the margins of society you can’t necessarily expect your family or your usual support structures to understand. Often, the best people to help you process a uniquely challenging professional space are those who did it with you. It’s understandable that professional proximity can feel like familial sentiment. 

👯 Especially for folks at the beginning of their careers the workplace may be the first time they feel a sense of belonging. This was my case, no offense to my tiny hometown or ‘best value’ college. 

🪷 If you have a great manager who sees you as a person, if you are surrounded by compassionate professionals who treat you with respect and honesty, the workplace may feel like a chosen family. 

Separately, I wonder if workplaces that behave ‘family-esque’ are having the right level of critical discourse on the work itself and performance. I’ll leave that to Adam Grant!