Everyone loves to romanticize this “we’re a family” message in corporate culture. You’ve heard it—leaders and managers grinning ear-to-ear, saying stuff like:

“We’re all one big family here!”

“Isn’t this place awesome? Don’t you just love it?”

I’ve seen it firsthand, and let’s be real: a lot of employees—especially the younger crowd—don’t care about the Kum-Ba-Ya vibes. They’re rolling their eyes at it. Why? Because in one breath, you’ve got a manager hyping up how “amazing” everyone is, how “we’re all in this together,” and then—bam—next second, they’re tearing into someone, barking insults, or nitpicking without a shred of useful feedback.

There’s no “hey, let’s figure out where this went sideways” or “how can I help you level up?”

You could argue that’s exactly like family—yelling matches and all—but nah, that’s not the point. The messaging’s screwed up.

Employees aren’t your family, and that’s fine.

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