Is It Okay To Hire Your Mom? Analysts Say The Pros Outweigh The Cons

Family businesses have been America’s single largest contributors to employment and creators of jobs. One of the reasons is that family businesses employ members of the family and thereby create vacancies elsewhere for other job seekers to fill.

The question is often debated whether it is all right for parents to employ their children, but it is not often debated if it is okay for children to employ parents, especially their mothers.

Analysts say that whenever a vacancy arises, be it for a bookkeeper, a controller, or top manager, many entrepreneurs have had no reservations in turning to someone they have known from the first day of their birth: their mothers.

“There is no bond stronger than a mother to their child, so I have the best person at the helm where the money is,” says Joshua. “I know she’s always looking out for my best interests.”

Joshua employed his mother, soon after launching is firm in 2010, and today she handles financial matters, human resources and works on real estate deals for her sons commercial estate firm at Scottsdale, Arizona.

Hiring moms has many advantages. You are assured of life-long loyalty, honest constructive and well-intentioned feedback and a calming force to assuage difficult times. Moms are also employees who you can trust with office keys, bank account passwords and trade secrets – moms don’t rip you off, of that the son-turned-boss can rest assured.

Fathers outnumber mothers, when it comes to their children employing them; however, even though there are exceptions, it is found that mothers tend to be better caretakers than the dad’s. Men normally have a tendency to dominate and dictate whilst mothers usher in a more harmonious and congenial atmosphere.

Yet working with a close relative, not necessarily a mom, can be treading dangerous waters. From family relationship to a professional relationship can be hard to maintain, because children may stop being children, but parents never stop being parents. They tend to be over-protective and this can have harmful consequences for the business. For instance, a mother may harass a valuable client about an outstanding bill or pitch sales too aggressively.

Parents may not like to be told what to do, especially if they are asked to do things differently and they may begin to harbor feelings of hurt and betrayal. It is not in their nature to take orders from their children, for has it not been the other way round for more than two decades.

The salary part can also become a sensitive issue. Some moms actually want to work for free and feel embarrassed to take money from their kids. On the other hand, there could be some mothers seeking an unreasonable raise that the son is unable to give.

Sometimes a mom’s presence at the workplace can be demoralizing for other workers. They may feel that while the boss has fixed schedules for us and pulls them up for every shortcoming, there is no job description, for mummy dearest, and she can do anything what she likes.

The key to resolving such a predicament is two have a frank discussion with your mother and tell her about the goals and objectives of the company and how workers are compensated and everything about working hours and workplace ethics. It would help if you could convince her that at the workplace she will be referred to by her first name and Mom she will remain, but only at home.

Not only will you get to see more of your mother, you will learn to value her as a person and not just as a mom.