"Helicopter Parents" in the workplace

ntk104 · April 2007

I read an article lately that was in USA news that was telling of "helicopter parents" and their involvement in their child's workplace. The article stated that some companies have trained their recruiters to handle parents who job hunt for their child. Has anyone had this kind of training or could you suggest ways this might be handled? I have some ideas, but would like some input from some of you. We will be hiring interns for the summer and would like to set up a training program as a "just in case" should it becomes necessary.

Jake2 · April 2007

I don't have any training ideas, but how aoubt a policy that personnel matters are only discussed with the employee and necessary personnel within the organization. Any parent who tries to intervene can just be quoted the policy and asked not to interfere. The only exception I can see to this is notice from a family member that the employee is incapacitated and not able to come to work. Otherwise, employee privacy is paramount.

regdunlop · April 2007

i agree with jake's recommendation about sticking to a policy that you will only discuss the job-related issues with the actual applicant/intern. let managers/recruiters know about the policy and how you want them to handle helicopter parents (e.g. refer young worker/parent to policy or to hr)

fisHRman · April 2007

Hey, HR Strange but True on this website just had a posting about wacky resumes--here's one from someone with a Helicopter Mom

"Had a letter attached from the job seeker's mother. I love my daughter and so will you. "

bevhunt · April 2007

I'm a parent of teenagers, and I see parents trying to micromanage their childrens' lives, so this doesn't surprise me.

With regard to the suggestions, you may want to be a little less blunt with the parent of a 16-year old summer intern on a first job than with the parent of an adult college graduate applying for a permanent job and train HR staffers to explain that the company only deals with employees and applicants directly.

blakefan · April 2007

This issue must be so embarassing for these kids...i think that Jake's idea is a good one. Besides, after they reach 18, the parents should not be consulted anyway, HR and managers should be dealing directly with the intern/employee. I think that parents can have a role if the worker is a teenager and there is some kind of inappropriate or other type of issue going on in the workplace, but I don't really see any reason why parents have or should be involved beyond that....

IrisD · April 2007

Yes, BlakeFan is right to feel sorry for the kids. If you want more insight into what they are going through, read this commentary piece from the New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/29/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/29Rparenting.html?em&ex=1178078400&en=781fb3823f86044c&ei=5087%0A

KLeede · April 2007

We have a lot of teen workers who are in high school and for most it's their first job so we do get calls from parents sometimes. The kids are mortified when a parent calls, but we're not really strict about not talking with the parents. After a while the kids learn how to handle most of the situations (schedule change, need for time off, etc.)

"Helicopter Parents" in the workplace

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