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Home • Money & Career

Employers Calling Workers ‘Family’ Is a Red Flag, Data Shows

Although the term is meant to evoke positive feelings in the workplace, potential employees worry that it signals blurred lines between work and home life.
Employers Calling Workers ‘Family’ Is a Red Flag, Data Shows
Confusing businesswoman using cell phone and laptop in office
By Jasmine Browley · Updated April 19, 2023

While on the job hunt, it’s easy to miss signs of trouble when all you want is a steady paycheck. But potential employers should be getting interviewed just as much as

During the hiring process, job seekers should be interviewing potential employers as much as they themselves are being evaluated, and one term in particular has been giving them pause: family. According to 2022 survey findings from software company Greenhouse, 45% of employees surveyed said they’ve turned down a job because of a trigger words and other bad experiences during the interview process.

Nearly 1 in 5 (18%) of job candidates shared that it’s a red flag if an interviewer uses the word “family” to describe the company.

“This study should hopefully encourage potential interview candidates to be attuned to possible red flags in the interview process,” Finn Bartram, editor at People Managing People, said in a news release. “It’s not to say they should go into the interview process overly skeptical, but rather to be aware as these ‘red flags’ can indicate larger issues with their potential boss, team or the organization as a whole.”

Other early signs of trouble include desperation to hire quickly or extreme staff turnover; incessant overtime; probing questions; low salaries; and overall unrealistic expectations, according to the survey’s findings.