Goodbye, family culture. Hello, unified team!

In the past, many organizations boasted about their team members as a family. Their position was that the company was not just a place to work, but rather, a place where everyone could have fun together and be closer on a more personal level. Leaders wanted outsiders to believe that no other organization could compare.

Today, referring to your coworkers as family is viewed more as a red flag! A workplace that boasts a family-like culture can be perceived as a disregard to work/life balance and a blurred boundary outside the 9-to-5. Internally, the mindset implies that your job should be valued just as much as your actual family. With organizations shifting away from this mentality, internal communication teams are challenged with maintaining a positive company culture that thrives on team collaboration and productivity, while also respecting personal boundaries when employees leave for the day. 

Here are our tips for using communications to build a tight-knit company culture without the underlying toxicity of being “one big family.”

Lay out expectations in the beginning.

It is possible to maintain a culture that is positive, supportive and productive. Outside of regular office hours, leaders should not be offended if their employees are living their lives and not making work their #1 priority. Some companies do have emergencies from time to time, so it’s important to lay out those expectations and have a set protocol if and when they occur. That may be asking employees to be accessible on weekends via phone but also understanding they may not respond right away if they’re watching their child’s soccer game or attending a concert. Also, keep in mind that not everything can constitute an emergency. If you’re calling up your team every weekend with an issue, you will quickly drive them to burnout and resentment.

Other companies may be OK with everyone unplugging entirely after 5 p.m. Do what is best for your team and make sure your expectations are clear. When boundaries are set from the beginning, team members are less likely to burn out, and they’re more likely to come together when times get tough.

Promote inclusion and collaboration.

A family-like culture implies leaders expect blind loyalty from their employees and expect them to go above and beyond past normal professional boundaries. Meanwhile, that loyalty is not reciprocated. With this type of culture and a fear of retaliation, employees are afraid to speak up when they disagree or to provide honest feedback. As a team leader, encourage employees to share their unique thoughts, and don’t scapegoat anyone if they do something you disagree with. Similarly, if someone makes a mistake, use it as a learning opportunity without shaming them and sit down with them privately to discuss other avenues that could have fared more positively for the situation. Making employees feel included to share new ideas and showing your support to them are far more effective than demanding loyalty from employees. 

Encourage professional development.

Establishing rapport among employees is important to building a more united, collaborative team. One way to do that is by promoting professional development and encouraging your team to expand their skillset and stay up to date with evolving industry changes. Offer a stipend for them to pursue various opportunities, like attending conferences and webinars. Demonstrating a commitment to your employees’ professional advancement can build loyalty in a more authentic way, as it shows you invest in their professional success.

It is possible to have a transparent, communicative and positive culture without forcing your team to believe you’re all family. Just remember, you can fight with your little sister and tell her she’s wrong about something because she’s your family. Unless you want to start a public relations and human resources scandal, you can’t do that with your coworker! So stop equating them to your family and start seeing them as who they really are – your colleague.