I received this feedback on the Family Business - The Perils and Positives of Working with Family article, and thought I'd post it here in case any of our other very smart readers have good advice for this reader.
-Paula
I just have a question about family who gossip and cause drama at work. I have a family business and they are all family and all they want to do is talk bad about each other and then cause drama and my husband and i have to deal with it. What should i do? please let me know. I need help with this situation .
N.L.
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2 comments:
My first comment is that just because someone is family doesn't mean you can't fire them, and just because you fire them doesn't mean they're not family.
If you and your husband own the business, you can set up good, objective business rules.
A good one to start with - criticism of other employees has to be constructive, etc.
If anyone breaks this rule, (and you and your husband better abide by the rules you set, as well, no matter how heated things might get!) Then you have to be prepared to follow through.
That said, don't get all personal about firing them or let it get ugly. You're going to be seeing them at reunions and holidays forever. Just because they weren't the right person or right personality for that particular job doesn't mean that you love them any less.
I ended up being really good friends with a woman I fired!
Good luck to you, this is certainly not easy.
-Paula
Doing business with family and friends can be really tricky, if not handled diplomatically. Most of us tend to mix up both personal and business relationships. You need to be professional while speaking business with family and friends. If you have greater authority then ensure the message is conveyed that they behave professionally during business hours. If not treat them as you would treat any other subordinate in a similar circumstance. If you are not able to handle the situation then I would advise refer them to your colleague. The best solution would be to have all the business terms and conditions in writing while appointing a family /friend to your business.
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