Should Workmates Feel Like “Family”? | Words to Describe Work Culture

Our CEO and Founder Linh Podetti (center) with her family.

When you’re part of a family, you’re expected to accept and support a person even though there are times when it goes against your will. For better or for worse, they’re your family!

There are even times when people go above and beyond the expected, at the expense of their own health or mental well-being, just for the sake of family. It may lean towards being toxic, but there are times when circumstances don’t leave people with any other choice. 😕

So when we use the term “family” in the employment context, this is what many job seekers expect to happen too. They make the connection to these familial expectations. They believe they’ll be asked to go above and beyond their pay grade, asked to sacrifice and put in extraordinary commitment—because that’s what families do for each other. 🤷

Now this is where it gets dicey. At Outsourcing Angel, we’ve used the word “family” to describe our working relationships—but we don’t feel exploited at all! (Pinky swear.)

👉 Related: 6 Unique Tips to Build A Strong Remote Work Culture

Before writing this article, our marketing team even asked the rest of the admin staff what they felt about the word “family” and whether using it to describe our company culture was a good thing.

The thread went on and on 🤣 But the theme was basically the same:

So from our perspective, it IS possible to feel the type of care and support from a family in your workplace. But the term “family” may need some reworking.

What’s A “Championship Team”? | Alternative Words to Describe Work Culture

Lots of books out there talk about championship teams, where groups do their best for each other but expect you to pull your weight at the same time.

There’s no room for a slacker. Unlike in a family—if your brother’s a bit of a slacker on some days, he’s still your brother! 😆

Championship teams, on the other hand, have their eye on the goal: they push each other to do their best, contribute value, and work together to win the game, smash KPIs, beat the competition, or set new goals.

So what if instead of just a “family,” we described our work culture as a “championship team”? 🤔

A championship team could function in the same way as a sports team—but with positive family values added to the mix. And we believe it’s a great fit to describe how we relate to each other at Outsourcing Angel.

Our championship team at our 2023 company retreat in Batangas, Philippines.

We help each other as much as we can and accept each other for who we are. This is extremely important for a 100% remote company with team members from across the world (Australia, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, etc.)

But at the same time, we’re not afraid to question and challenge each other. Even families have debates and arguments! And the thing is: some families avoid these difficult discussions because they can cause estrangement, division, and other negative outcomes and feelings.

In a work setting, however, having these types of discussions is NOT a bad thing at all. And that’s what a championship team can do: we can ask questions, hold each other accountable, and motivate each other to step up because everyone needs to contribute.

“Family isn’t always blood. It’s the people in your life who want you in theirs; the ones who accept you for who you are. The ones who would do anything to see you smile and who love you no matter what.”
– Author and poet Maya Angelou on finding your family

Whether it’s contributing equally or not—that may not matter much in the big picture. A family has a choice of who has to do what; you can’t put washing the dishes at the same level as vacuuming the whole house, right? 😅

So it’s not about how many tasks one person does versus another. Teams shouldn’t compete among themselves. Everyone is different and has their own sets of skills, strengths and weaknesses.

👉 Related: 100 Tasks You Can Outsource to A Virtual Assistant

“A championship team doesn’t just accept who you are today. They accept and help you become who you’re going to be tomorrow and in the future.”
– Richard Phu, Managing Director, Outsourcing Angel

Of course, people change over time; part of being in a team is to challenge each other to improve, to do better. To grow! 🪴

And this is where we think corporate has got it all wrong.

Reason 1: Forced Bonding

In formal business settings, using the word “family” might mean you’re expected or forced to accept someone you don’t like, to bond with them even though they don’t adhere to your business core values 💀

But in a championship team (or ours at least!) it’s okay not to.

In families, you’re expected to stick together. You can’t just let them go at the drop of a hat because for better or for worse, you get to keep them forever.

But when it comes to work, if someone doesn’t have the right core values or isn’t a good fit with your company, then you simply have to let them go. Especially if they don’t perform well or if they have a bad attitude.

They just don’t belong in your team and the best thing to do is to let them find other opportunities. And you can’t exactly do that in a family! 🤷

When we use this word to describe work connections, we might unconsciously endorse the idea that our staff should always stick with us and our business, even though the arrangement isn’t good for either party anymore. Even when it’s become toxic. This may also be part of the reason why so many corporate workers stick with their 9-to-5 even though they clearly hate it 😥

Reason 2: It’s Words Without Action

Other businesses might not do a good job of letting people know that their boss cares about them too. It’s one thing to say you care and another thing to actually make people feel you care. That’s why work family quotes just won’t cut it in business. It has to be backed by action.

Our management team does things they don’t have to do to show the staff they care. Instantly approved leaves, medical benefits, above-industry wages, making time for someone who needs help with a task, even just asking random questions about someone’s day for an icebreaker—these are things bosses don’t HAVE to do.

But ours do 😎 And it makes us feel really looked after. And that creates a ripple effect of us making the rest of the team feel looked after too, of creating a space for trust and openness in conversations and self-improvement.

👉 Related: How to Upskill and Train A Kick-Ass Remote Team

So in corporate settings, they can say “Oh yeah, we’re a family here” all they want—but if team members don’t feel seen, heard, and taken care of, expecting them to show initiative and participate wholeheartedly in group activities will most likely lead to disappointment. And that’s where conflicts might begin. 👀

Reason 3: Baggage and Family Trauma

Family trauma is a serious issue, one that needs to be accounted for when we’re choosing words to describe work culture. 😥

If people have been badly hurt before—whether by family members or by another company that used the term “family” and treated them horribly—they might carry that baggage with them to YOUR workplace. We’re pretty sure you don’t want that either.

👉 Related: How to Set Up Your Digital Workspace for Remote Work

One outcome of this scenario might be your team members adopting an “I don’t need family, I just need myself” attitude. And how will you foster innovation without collaboration in your team?