A family business is understood as a business in which members of the same family hold most of the charter capital or management and executive positions. Employees in these companies often face many difficulties in reconciling the "outsider-family" relationship and "internal conflicts within the family".
Family business models are increasingly flourishing in big cities (Photo: Pexels).
Fired employee because... he looked unpleasant
After being laid off at her old company, Thu Phuong (24 years old, marketing staff in Hanoi ) decided to work at a beauty company with only about 10 employees.
Phuong's department head is the CEO's son. In addition, most of the other key positions here are also relatives of this boss.
During her time at work, Phuong was often assigned tasks such as designing images that were outside of the initial requirements of just writing content. However, because her colleagues around her accepted this, she had to go along with it.
"In weekly meetings, I put forward ideas but they were always dismissed or ignored. When I gave my opinion on problems in the work organization, if one boss was not satisfied, all departments would join in to criticize... That always made me feel out of place, feeling like I was not really needed here," Phuong said.
Being scrutinized by prying eyes everywhere makes many young employees exhausted (Photo: Pexels).
Similarly, when he had just graduated from university, Mr. Hoang Long (27 years old, a communications staff in Ho Chi Minh City) also had a terrifying experience working at a family company.
Here, all rewards are unclear, even the boss always has a discriminatory treatment towards loved and hated employees. Many times Long witnessed the leader scolding and firing his colleagues in the middle of a general meeting just because he "didn't like them".
"They were only 5 minutes late for the meeting and all 3 people in the same group were fired by the boss in the middle of the meeting. This will not happen when you work in a well-organized business with a clear labor contract. From then on, I was always careful, trying to please the boss, but after just over a year, I could not stay," Long added.
Unclear regulations and unfair rewards and punishments are common problems in "family-run" companies (Photo: Pexels).
Reported for going to the bathroom... 10 minutes
Thanh Ngan (25 years old, consultant in Ho Chi Minh City) said she is working for a company where both husband and wife are bosses. Here, employees are closely monitored because the "eyes and ears" of the leaders are everywhere. Even if she goes out to receive goods, order food, or relax for just 5-7 minutes... she is immediately reported and reminded.
"There was a day when my boss asked me why I took so long to go to the bathroom when I had only been away from my desk for 10 minutes. Generally, in a company with both family and outsiders, employees will be discriminated against and calculated in detail," Thanh Ngan added.
In addition, the fact that the business leaders are husband and wife often puts Ngan in a "dilemma" situation when both of them call to assign work at the same time.
"While I was handling work for my wife, my husband was urging me to finish my work for the day. I felt suffocated because I worked for 8 hours straight and had to bring work home at night. It's only been 2 months but I probably won't last long with this family company," Thanh Ngan said.
Many employees at family businesses are frustrated when they are constantly reminded about unreasonable things (Photo: Hustle culture).
In addition, the internal culture at the family company also gave Ngan a headache. She was confused because every time an employee made a mistake, the company added a new rule.
Recently, because she had to rush to handle an assignment from her boss past her lunch break, and was 5 minutes late for her afternoon shift after finishing her meal, she was reprimanded and given a new rule: being 1 minute late means a fine.
"Every day I go to work I have to hold my breath because of the monitoring and prying eyes everywhere," Ngan complained.
In conclusion, Thu Phuong commented that family businesses give young employees the opportunity to express and assert themselves because of their small scale and lack of rigid frameworks. However, that is also a sign of unprofessionalism, making everything ambiguous.
According to HR Insider Vietnam, to survive in a "family-run company" environment like the one above, employees need to pay attention to:
First, always do exactly what your leader assigns, gaining trust will make it easier for you to advance in your career.
Second, do not compare the treatment between you and your boss's "family" because the nature of a family business is to prioritize family members.
Third, create opportunities to make friends with your boss's children. Having a good relationship with your family will be a stepping stone to help you "breathe easier" at work.
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