Do you struggle to get family members to understand what it is you actually do at the office all day? You’re not alone.
But fear not — a solution could be in hand, with a new worldwide event introduced by LinkedIn: Bring In Your Parents Day, which will take place this November 7th in 14 different countries across various continents.
But is introducing Mom and Dad to your boss the best idea? Let’s take a look at the arguments for and against this new event.
The Background
Bring In Your Parents Day is being introduced at a time when old conventions are being dissolved and the two youngest generations currently at play in the workplace are blurring lines between personal and professional lives for all of us.
The first of these, Generation X (born between 1960-80), currently makes up around a third of the labor force. With firsthand experience of the problems caused by their parents’ strong work ethic and, some would say, over commitment to corporate life, the “latchkey kids” of this generation are motivated by a desire for a better work-life balance. And what better way to balance work and life than by combining the two?
Meanwhile, Generation Y (born between 1980-2000) are starting to come into the workplace in full swing. Technologically savvy, these “digital natives” come bearing devices like smartphones and tablets that make it easier to combine your professional and personal lives by checking your work email at home and your private Facebook account at work.
Generation Y are also used to having Mom and Dad around at work. Subject to the involved, hands-on childcare styles of “helicopter parents” a frightening 8% of GenY job seekers have been accompanied to an interview by a parent. They’re also unencumbered by the traditional workplace formalities that might previously have kept parents at bay; the vast majority of this generation also thinks they should be allowed to wear blue jeans to work.
Is It Really a Good Idea for Your Parents to Meet Your Boss?
In this context, it was only a matter of time before someone came up with the idea of a Parents’ Day at work. Enter LinkedIn, the professional social network and a key protagonist in Generation Y’s career path.
From a company point of view, LinkedIn’s argument for bringing parents into the workplace is that employees who are supported by their family are happier, more loyal and more productive. And children, supposedly, have much to gain from the years of experience older family members bring.
Although I think LinkedIn has genuinely honorable intentions (as well as a good helping of marketing savvy), I disagree with this event.
At work, we’re obliged to fulfill a very different role than we are at home. By allowing these two circles to overlap, you allow your colleagues to see you in a new light –- and, if you’ve spent time and effort carefully crafting your professional persona and reputation, that might not necessarily be a good thing. If you’ve seen Bridget Jones’s Diary, you probably have some idea of what I’m talking about.
Furthermore, while one day a year is unlikely to present much of a problem, in the grander scheme of things, it can be argued that over-involving parents in their children’s careers can lead to lack of independence and an inability to make decisions.
And it’s not just those whose parents attend such a day who need to worry. How do you explain your Mom and Dad’s absence to your colleagues if you don’t have parents, or don’t get on with the ones you have?
Bring In Your Parents Day also runs the risk of patronizing parents, who may have jobs or other responsibilities of their own to attend to. (Take a look at LinkedIn’s Bring In Your Parents “report card” to see what I mean.)
Meeting the Parents: Any Benefits?
In addition to being a minefield of potential pitfalls, it’s unclear how bringing parents into our professional lives in this way offers any real benefits. Apart from the odd interview with participants, there’s no clear research to show that this kind of initiative genuinely improves productivity.
Not everything is about numbers and profit, of course, and seeing employers’ commitment to accommodating family life may, quite rightly, increase worker loyalty. But wouldn’t a better way to do this be to simply give employees a day off to spend with their loved ones rather than obliging them to wheel them into the office? (Tweet this thought.)
Although support from close personal networks is vital in forging a successful career path, there are plenty of ways to encourage this without having to bring both groups into the same physical space. Surely picking up the phone and having a good, honest heart-to-heart is far more use than participating in a free-for-all corporate activity?
In short, being a good parent, professional or employer is a difficult enough job as it is. Without wanting to rain on the parental parade, trying to combine social and professional circles is, quite simply, expecting too much from everyone involved.
How would you feel about a “Bring In Your Parents” Day at your office? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Penelope Cain is in-house careers writer for international employment search website JobisJob. You can catch up with her on the JobisJob Blog, where you’ll find up-to-the-minute information about careers and employment trends.
Image: Passive-Aggressive Notes
