Tips For Working With Family

tyler-nix-V3dHmb1MOXM-unsplashtyler-nix-V3dHmb1MOXM-unsplashI started working at Traklight a couple of weeks ago and you can see that I look a little bit like the CEO (a younger version). The CEO is my mother but do not think that is an advantage! Working with family can be a bit of a challenge, but I have put together of my top five tips for working with family to help increase your efficiency and decrease your frustration.

  1. Do not work directly with them. Have another team member assign your work and instruct you on how to do things. Ask lots of questions about any task but…
  2. Do not ask your family member questions about the company and/or your tasks. It can be tempting to consult a family member before others in the company since you are probably more comfortable with them, and less concerned with sounding like an idiot for asking a silly question. However it is not appropriate to ask them because chances are they have better things to do, especially if they happen to be the CEO. Also they likely do not have the background on your assignment. It is always best to direct questions to team members who gave you the assignment.
  3. At the office, do not refer to your family member as Mum/Dad/Uncle Philip or whatever you call them at home. Keep it professional and use nicknames if you are not comfortable calling them by their first name.
  4. Do not talk about your family life or things you do at home at the office. While you are fine talking about these things, other employees most likely do not want to hear about it. 
  5. Never put yourself in a position where you are taking direct orders from a family member. I don’t care who you are, you will be annoyed by their orders.

That said, I am loving my summer internship so far working with Emily and the Michaels!


We know that working with family can be challenging, but identifying and securing your IP doesn’t have to be.
Check out ID your IP and IP Vault, for your custom IP strategy and security.

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