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Should You Work for Friends and Family?

<p><img class&equals;"aligncenter" alt&equals;"" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;collegecareerlife&period;net&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2014&sol;01&sol;dreamstime&lowbar;xs&lowbar;20876832&period;jpg" width&equals;"480" height&equals;"374" &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Managers and business owners are often advised against hiring friends and family&period; If the employee doesn&&num;8217&semi;t work out&comma; a relationship can be forever ruined&period; It also can be awkward for other employees&comma; because it&&num;8217&semi;s difficult to be completely impartial when you have such a close relationship with one employee&period; And while working for friends and family might seem like a great idea&comma; it can be more difficult than one might anticipate&period; However&comma; there are some possible advantages to working for a friend or family member&comma; assuming both parties are aware of the pitfalls upfront and focus on remaining professional&period; Before deciding whether or not to work for friends or family&comma; consider the following pros and cons&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h3>Pros&colon;<&sol;h3>&NewLine;<ul>&NewLine;<li><strong>Better Work Environment &&num;8211&semi; <&sol;strong>Working with close friends or family can promote a more positive <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;collegecareerlife&period;net&sol;what-is-your-ideal-work-environment&sol;" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank">work environment<&sol;a>&period; Good relationships among colleagues leads to better satisfaction and productivity&period; Non-friend and family colleagues should not be excluded from discussions or the positive environment can turn toxic quickly&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li><strong>Openness and Honesty &&num;8211&semi; <&sol;strong>It&&num;8217&semi;s easier to be honest with people we know best&period; Have an idea about how to improve the business&quest; You&&num;8217&semi;re more likely to tell a close friend rather than a manager you don&&num;8217&semi;t know outside the office&period; This may also inspire other employees to voice their ideas and opinions&comma; leading to a more cooperative and innovative workplace&period;<strong><br &sol;>&NewLine;<&sol;strong><&sol;li>&NewLine;<li><strong>Loyalty &&num;8211&semi; <&sol;strong>Most workers today can&&num;8217&semi;t count on loyalty from their employers&period; Mass layoffs occur on a regular basis&comma; and often those losing their jobs have contributed greatly to their employers&period; As a result&comma; it&&num;8217&semi;s the norm for employees to be constantly on edge&comma; fearing a sudden layoff despite their hard work and achievements&period; When working for someone you know&comma; there is a greater sense of loyalty and a better sense of security<strong>&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;<&sol;strong><&sol;li>&NewLine;<&sol;ul>&NewLine;<h3><&sol;h3>&NewLine;<h3>Cons&colon;<&sol;h3>&NewLine;<ul>&NewLine;<li><strong>Assumed Nepotism &&num;8211&semi; <&sol;strong>When friends and relatives work together&comma; nepotism is often assumed by other employees&period; This can cause resentment&comma; particularly when there is obvious preference in title&comma; salary or responsibilities&period; You&&num;8217&semi;ll have to prove that you&&num;8217&semi;re held to the same standards and contribute as much as any other employee&period;<strong><br &sol;>&NewLine;<&sol;strong><&sol;li>&NewLine;<li><strong>Taking Advantage &&num;8211&semi; <&sol;strong>Just as employees working with friends can take advantage of the close relationship&comma; managers can take advantage of friends and family by piling on more work or paying lower wages&period;<strong><br &sol;>&NewLine;<&sol;strong><&sol;li>&NewLine;<li><strong>Reluctance to Address Problems &&num;8211&semi; <&sol;strong>It might be hard to address issues with someone you know personally&comma; for fear of damaging a good relationship&period; Difficult conversations must be had in the workplace&comma; and it can be awkward when the relationship goes beyond purely professional&period; <strong><br &sol;>&NewLine;<&sol;strong><&sol;li>&NewLine;<li><strong>Damaged Relationships &&num;8211&semi; <&sol;strong>When things do go wrong&comma; relationships can be hurt or damaged beyond repair&period; You may feel especially hurt or resentful when a friend or relative criticizes your work or disagrees with you&period; These feelings can bleed over into your personal relationship&period;<strong><br &sol;>&NewLine;<&sol;strong><&sol;li>&NewLine;<&sol;ul>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Working for friends and family sounds fun and less stressful than working under another manager&period; But consider the above pitfalls that employees often encounter before making the leap&period; Sometimes personal and business relationships shouldn&&num;8217&semi;t mix&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; center&semi;"><div id&equals;"polls-15" class&equals;"wp-polls">&NewLine;&Tab;<form id&equals;"polls&lowbar;form&lowbar;15" class&equals;"wp-polls-form" action&equals;"&sol;index&period;php" method&equals;"post">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<p style&equals;"display&colon; none&semi;"><input type&equals;"hidden" id&equals;"poll&lowbar;15&lowbar;nonce" name&equals;"wp-polls-nonce" value&equals;"59adc1e026" &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<p style&equals;"display&colon; none&semi;"><input type&equals;"hidden" name&equals;"poll&lowbar;id" value&equals;"15" &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; center&semi;"><strong>What do you think&quest; Is working for close friends and family a good idea&quest;<&sol;strong><&sol;p><div id&equals;"polls-15-ans" class&equals;"wp-polls-ans"><ul class&equals;"wp-polls-ul">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<li><input type&equals;"radio" id&equals;"poll-answer-78" name&equals;"poll&lowbar;15" value&equals;"78" &sol;> <label for&equals;"poll-answer-78">Yes - it should make work more pleasant<&sol;label><&sol;li>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<li><input type&equals;"radio" id&equals;"poll-answer-79" name&equals;"poll&lowbar;15" value&equals;"79" &sol;> <label for&equals;"poll-answer-79">Maybe - it depends on the relationship and type of workplace<&sol;label><&sol;li>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<li><input type&equals;"radio" id&equals;"poll-answer-80" name&equals;"poll&lowbar;15" value&equals;"80" &sol;> <label for&equals;"poll-answer-80">No - business and personal relationships should be kept separate<&sol;label><&sol;li>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;ul><p style&equals;"text-align&colon; center&semi;"><input type&equals;"button" name&equals;"vote" value&equals;" Vote " class&equals;"Buttons" onclick&equals;"poll&lowbar;vote&lpar;15&rpar;&semi;" &sol;><&sol;p><p style&equals;"text-align&colon; center&semi;"><a href&equals;"&num;ViewPollResults" onclick&equals;"poll&lowbar;result&lpar;15&rpar;&semi; return false&semi;" title&equals;"View Results Of This Poll">View Results<&sol;a><&sol;p><&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;<&sol;form>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div id&equals;"polls-15-loading" class&equals;"wp-polls-loading"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;collegecareerlife&period;net&sol;wp-content&sol;plugins&sol;wp-polls&sol;images&sol;loading&period;gif" width&equals;"16" height&equals;"16" alt&equals;"Loading &period;&period;&period;" title&equals;"Loading &period;&period;&period;" class&equals;"wp-polls-image" &sol;>&nbsp&semi;Loading &period;&period;&period;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;p>&NewLine;

Andrea: