Are you underpaid?
Then you are not alone.
And if you are employed in your family's business, that may be the reason for your meager paycheck.
Just as members of the owner family sometimes receive excessive salaries by virtue of their affiliation, the opposite can also be true.
My experience tells me that underpayment particularly affects women from the owner families. It has also been my experience that charitable projects in particular end up in the category of "something you can just do without payment."
Perhaps the challenge lies in the fact that most of us want to help our families, and that we also expect to receive help from our loved ones?
Helping and accepting help from one's family does not sound like a problem, and it is also a natural feature of well-functioning families – that is, in private life.
However, the norm of helping one's loved ones without expecting anything in return can create problems if it is carried over into the business world one-to-one. In fact, it is a recipe for trouble.
As an underpaid member of an owner family, you may, like everyone else, feel that you are not appreciated. This can damage your motivation and have a detrimental effect on your mental health, just as if you were not part of the owner family.
And the people around you—family or not—may unconsciously begin to question the value you bring to the table, which can damage both your professional and personal relationships.
What does your family business do to prevent family members from being underpaid?
