It’s been said that you shouldn’t mix family with business. One of the risks is that if things at work go south, relationships can suffer. And that’s exactly what’s playing out at a family-run medical practice that’s been around for more than 50 years.
A doctor has told how she took over running her dad’s practice while her sister managed the insurance and patient billing aspects. What the family didn’t anticipate was a whopping $40,000 to disappear into thin air. Now the doctor wants to fire her sister before the business tanks, but her parents are having none of it.
Working with relatives can create all sorts of headaches, especially when money goes missing
Image credits: msvyatkovska / Envato (not the actual photo)
One woman wants to fire her sister after a $40k loss in the family-run business, but her parents won’t let her
Image credits: malyshph / Envato (not the actual photo)
Image credits: DC_Studio / Envato (not the actual photo)
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The woman provided quite a bit more info when prompted by netizens
Here’s why you shouldn’t mix business and family…
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Experts are divided over whether it’s a good idea to mix business and family. One of the major downsides is that issues at work can affect income and relationships for years to come.
According to medical practice management consulting firm, Physician Practice, hiring family members is one of the most common preventable mistakes physicians and practice managers make. And there are a bunch of reasons the team warns against doing so.
“We’ve heard of practices in which the physician owner was not just unaware that their spouse was unhappy, but also unaware that she was siphoning money from the business,” reveals the Physician Practice site. “Embezzlement can be harder to fight when a spouse is involved – and the damage will affect everyone else at the practice, not just the one who hired the embezzler.”
The firm also believes that unfairness is all-but-unavoidable. Even if you make every effort to avoid any favoritism, there’s a good chance you’ll fail. “After all, the main reason you hired your relative is that you trust him more and your other employees will perceive that – and that can undermine morale,” argues Physician Practice.
The site adds that if you try too hard to avoid any bias – or any appearance of it – you could end up being unfairly tough on your relative instead. Cue family conflict and drama.
Another downside is that if your relative is doing a bad job, other employees might be unlikely to say anything about it. “Employees are often the first to spot problems in patient service or workflow, but if doing so involves offending or criticizing your related employee, employees won’t feel free to tell you what they see,” warns the consulting firm.
When it comes to medical practices, physicians are often so busy seeing patients that they don’t have time to deal with admin issues, figure out what’s causing poor morale, or financial losses.
“Similarly, managers may have no idea that the son or niece they hired to help enter data or scan charts is actually doing a poor job and creating more work for everyone else, because staff fear repercussions if they speak up,” notes the site.
And here’s why you should…
Image credits: Getty Images / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
According to healthcare sharing non-profit, Medi-Share, mixing family and business is a delicate balance, but it can work. Excellent communication is a must, says the NPO, and each person must make their requirements and expectations clear and verify they understand what everyone else requires and expects.
One of the advantage of working with family is familiarity. “You’ll save time applying for funding, advertising a position, hiring an employee, and getting to know who you’re working with,” argue Medi-Share’s experts. “Your learning curve won’t be as steep because you’re already familiar with their knowledge, skills, background, personality, and motivations.”
Another is shared values and goals. Medi-Care’s experts believe that with strong emotional connections and high levels of trust, relatives will seek ways to help you find success through their support and encouragement. And this should be especially true during challenging times.
Of course, when the family is involved, there’s also a certain level of comfort when it comes to asking for help with business-related issues. Your loved ones (hopefully) have a vested interest in your success. And could advise you on how to improve things at work. The right advice could help you avoid costly mistakes.
However, Medi-Share’s team agrees that there are many disadvantages to working with, or hiring, family members. They warn that you shouldn’t simply default to working with relatives or accepting finances from them just because they’re family.
“This will not end well”: Many people took the doctor’s side
Some felt the whole family was in the wrong and a few had advice for them
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