How Family Affects Work: An example
We see
this very often with people who have had no previous work
experience, whether they are young adults just out of
school, women entering the workforce after raising their
children, men who have overcome an addiction and are just
now getting their first job. When you have little or no
history in the work force, your reactions and expectations
are based on your family relationships, because that is all
you know. If you have grown up in a home without a parent
who had a regular job, you may have very different
expectations than your employer. Let’s take a look
…
Jeanne is one of the few people she knows who has a regular
job. She just started this week and is proud of herself for
having gotten a job with good pay and benefits. She gets up
in the morning, gets her kids ready for school, drops them
off at school, comes back home, wakes her mom up, sits for
a while to have a cup of coffee and remind her mom that the
kids are coming over after school. She comes into work and
her boss, Sandi, sticks her head out of her office.
“You
know, you were supposed to be here an hour ago. It’s
9:30. Your hours are 8:30 – 5.
“
Jeanne is surprised and a little irritated. Who does this
woman think she is, anyway? Jeanne is an adult and
doesn’t need anyone telling her when her hours are.
She says defensively, “I
had to drop my kids off at school. My family is really
important to me.”
Sandi is
already back at work looking at something on the
computer, “Well,
try to be here on time from now on. It’s
important.”
Jeanne starts in to work, files all the papers on her desk,
returns phone calls, types the reports in her in-box and in
general does a good job. At 4:30, she is feeling pretty
good about the work she has done, gets her coat on and
heads for the door.
The boss sticks her head out of the office again,
“Where
are you going?”
More on family and work, two views of the
workplace