Man Reveals What It Is Like To Work With His Mother In The Same Company

Greg Bockman, who works at AT&T, a multinational telecommunications holding company, recently opened up about working alongside his mother in the same company. Greg shared his unique experience with Business Insider. Greg works as the Senior Events Manager at AT&T and his mother Kathryn is the Assistant Vice President of Accounting. Even though he and his mother are in different departments, they often bump into each other in the office. Greg says that it was never planned that he would work with his mother, but somehow his career trajectory put him into the same company.

Talking about how they react when they see each other in the office, the young executive said, “If I bump into my mom coming out of the elevator or in the hall, we’ll give a quick embrace, but not the type of mother-son hug we save for family events.” He added, “I never expected to be working with my mom. Growing up I knew she worked at AT&T and had a lot of loyalty to the company, but our interests were totally different: I love planning events, while she’s focused on numbers and finance.”

He said that he feels fortunate to have his mother as his mentor, but explicitly stated that he doesn’t want to work in the same department as her. He added that as a mentor or a co-worker, his mother is a “straight shooter” and says things as it is. This “tough love” approach helped him even though he admitted that sometimes he finds it hard to take advice from his mother. He explained, “Sometimes it can be hard to take advice from my mom. Once or twice she’s told me things I didn’t want to hear. I might get annoyed with my mom about that, but at the same time I appreciate the honesty from my mentor.”

Greg said that seeing his mother thriving as a career woman in the corporate world left a great impression on his mind as a child. “One unexpected professional advantage of working with your mother is that both of them have insights into different company departments.” He thinks this can strengthen the organisation because “we recognise the potential for collaboration and the value that everyone brings to the table.”

It is often said that mixing business or work with friends and family can be harmful but it appears that Greg and his mom have struck a perfect balance between the two.