In a June 2022 post <Link>, I commented, “A company employs you because what you do is valuable. Your value must be enough to justify your salary.” In the post’s article, Gloria Chan Packer gave guidance to deal with the “like family” paradigm, which can be destructive to teams and individuals.
Marlene Chism addresses “like family” in depth in the article linked here. She writes, “The problem with ‘we’re like family’ is not the caring. Caring is human. The problem is when caring becomes a substitute for clarity. In healthy families, love may be unconditional. In healthy businesses, employment is based on agreements: reliability, behavior, performance, trust and the health of the business.”
Source: Smartbrief, June 6, 2026. Link.
We’re like family” feels warm. But “We lead with care, clarity and standards” builds a lasting business.”
INSIGHTS: Without clarity, the “we’re like family” operating system blurs authority and creates conflict.
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