UK employees won’t work with relatives
Blood isn’t thicker than water for UK workers, who don’t want to work alongside family members or recommend them for a role. Here’s why they’re missing out.
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From the Guinness family to the Jackson 5, and from the O’Donovan brothers to the Olsen twins, there are countless examples of relatives working together and achieving enormous success.
And with the job market more competitive than ever, family connections can sometimes be the only way UK workers can get a foot in the door. One study by Debrett’s shows that seven in every ten young Brits use family connections to make their first step on the career ladder.[1]
Our new study, however, shows that UK workers don’t want to work with their relatives. Two-thirds (58%) say they wouldn’t recommend a family member for a job within their company.
Despite this, related colleagues are widespread. Of the 5,795 workers surveyed, 42% had worked with family themselves while 69% had worked with colleagues who are related to each other. Of those that have experienced working with family, 1 in 3 (31%) have done so with their parents and 34% have worked with their sibling.
Fearing judgement
People are reluctant to work with relatives as they are anxious about what others think and how it might impact their career. In our research, a third (31%) of people just weren’t comfortable with the idea of working with family, a fifth claimed they wouldn’t trust their relative’s professional abilities and 15% were worried they would lose credibility among their colleagues.
Rebecca Adair, 29, was nervous the first time she booked her makeup artist mother for a job at her advertising agency, Kemosabe. “I was worried that it would look like nepotism and appear unprofessional,” explains co-founder and managing partner Rebecca. “The first time we worked together, we were so concerned that just before we got to the shoot, my mum kicked me out of the car so that we arrived at different times.”
Imagined stigma
However, there isn’t as much stigma against working with relatives as some believe. In our study, the majority disagreed that those working with family members earn more, are less trustworthy, get better benefits and don’t have to work as hard. 31% of respondents believe working with relatives can help people progress faster – but a similar proportion (30%) disagreed with this statement. So people are worried that working with relatives is frowned upon by others, but don’t see any harm in it themselves.
“Maintaining a safe and enjoyable work environment can be more difficult, because people perceive that their colleagues will have a belief that nepotism prevails or benefits will be different,” says Martin Talbot, Group Marketing Director at totaljobs. “However, in reality, only one in five people think those who are related have it easier in the workplace.”
And, despite people’s concerns, our respondents that have worked with relatives received a positive reception from their colleagues. The overwhelming majority (82%) felt that they were treated just like any other colleague and only 8% experienced colleagues thinking that nepotism got them the job. What’s more, 66% of people that have worked with related colleagues found their working relationship to be normal.
In the end, Rebecca had positive reactions from her workmates, too. “Everyone’s been really relaxed about it,” she says, explaining it didn’t take long before people realised her makeup artist was a relative due to their matching blonde hair and blue eyes. “We’ve always had good feedback from clients and now we just play it by ear as to whether we spill the beans,” she says.
Positive benefits
Rebecca’s clients have commented on the positive working dynamic that the mother / daughter team have created. “Mum does such a good job and we look like a close team,” she says. The situation has benefited her personally too, making her relationship with her mother even stronger. “It’s easier for mum to explain what I do, which makes all my family understand my work more,” she says. “So it’s brought all the family together in a way.”
In our study, we discovered that people working in a family businesses have experienced similar positive outcomes. While the majority of those that have worked with relatives did so for the same employer (57%), 11% have worked together in a family business and another 10% launched their business with family. Of those people, 22% said that the experience brought them closer.
Jamie Purkhardt, 29, runs Ski Peak, a skiing holiday business with his father. “I now know my father a lot better and can read him quite well,” says Jamie. “Plus my siblings, aunties and uncles have perhaps given me a bit more respect for stepping in and trying to salvage the family business.”
Allowing for space
While the majority of people in our study agreed that working in a family business is successful and rewarding, they also said it is difficult and stressful. It hasn’t been plain sailing for Jamie either, who says that when he and his father don’t see eye-to-eye his mother can get stuck in middle.
“I think it’s important to bring different attributes to the table,” says Jamie, explaining that he and his father look after distinct elements of the business. “I don’t think it would work if we were covering the same areas as there would be more conflict than necessary.”
He’s not the only person to advise creating space when it comes to working with relatives. Harriet Lawson, 28, worked with her sister for three years at communications agency Exposure and she believes it was successful because they were on separate floors. “I didn’t see her that often, some days I wouldn’t see her at work at all,” she says. “It didn’t affect our relationship and it was great having her there if I needed her help on something, or vice versa.”
Role models
Due to the natural connection we have with our kin, family and work will always be intertwined to a degree. For example, our study found that family plays a fundamental role in how UK workers’ careers develop. The majority (46%) said their parents are their biggest role models in terms of how they have influenced their career.
“Of course my father has been a role model,” says Jamie. “He has always been thoughtful to his staff, listened to them, been kind and acted as best he can to solve any situation that arose.”
Working with relatives can help people develop and learn from those they most respect, whether it is a under the same employer or within a family business.
Martin Talbot, Group Marketing Director at totaljobs comments, “Today’s findings show that while there are natural difficulties in working with family, most of the challenges are imagined rather than real, and many across the UK are finding it a rewarding experience to work with their nearest and dearest.”
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