Working with family?

[X4MGS]

I worked with my Dad & Mum for over 20 years...


Yes it has pro's and con's as well as it's ups and downs..


BUT I wouldn't have done anything else, I was fortunate to have a wonderful relationship with both of them, but look back fondly upon the time I had with my Dad especially now he's not here.


You have to know your place in the pecking order and expect to have more work to do than a normal employee, and make sure that work stops when you leave the office, don't take it home & don't let things fester - have your say and then put the matter to bed and move on...

[VW BUSH]

Worked with my dad for 5 years before I was his boss for nearly 4
Best years at work for me

[golf-sib]

Depends who you work with and your relationship in general, personality, their position in the company etc... I've worked with my:

Dad, all good,
Brother, that was all okay
Sister, that was terrible
Nephew (oldest), that was terrible
Nephew (youngest), I got to help me on odd jobs as he is willing to learn but I just didn't have patience for him

Its a gamble, depends how your brother runs the business and what your relationship is like. He may be pushy, he might treat you as an equal and more of a partnership. Its your call at the end of the day as he is your brother. There's always pro's and con's and possibly personality/decision clashes.

[justalex81]

Well you know them better than anyone else you'd hire. What are they like?

motivated? driven? hard working? ambitious? Keen to learn?

[Len]

Do you think it would be different cos its his business?

Yes!

The business will come before your relationship, which is how it should be for the sake of the business.
If you go in with that attitude you should be fine.

[Seanl]

I've worked with my brother a couple of times, and I out rank him. As others have said, its about personality. Me and my brother are like chalk and cheese though. I'm quite reserved, and use my better judgement before making snap decisions, whereas he is very vocal and outspoken about everything. Both of us are in supervisory roles though, and we just use different styles of leadership. We compliment each other by doing that most of the time, but as we're brothers rank doesn't really come into it, and we clash quite alot!

The fact you are asking says to me that you know to be respectful, and know who holds all the cards.
Talk to him about it first, let him know your thoughts and see what he thinks about it.

As long as he doesn't try to prove his authority by undermining you in front of other employees, all should go smoothly. 

[Ginge 35Edition]

Thanks for all of the replies. Due to the role I currently do I know how to respect seniority even when my boss is also a friend. I'm going to bring up my concerns etc and go from there. I'm the sort of person that can talk about feelings etc but my bro is the total opposite, so it could be interesting.