A U.S. psychologist argues in a new book that whether you succeed or fail in the workplace is related to the kind of father you have.
The new book, titled “The Father Factor,” was written by U.S. clinical psychologist Stephen Boldt, Reuters reported May 13. In the book, he lists five types of fathers who can have a significant impact on their children’s careers – accomplished, time bomb, negative-minded, inattentive and compassionate or mentoring.
Bolt writes that ticking time bomb fathers are fathers who often have sudden, violent outbursts in the home. The father who has this kind of father usually knows how to read people’s tempers and moods in the workplace. These people are often qualified for positions such as personnel manager or negotiator. But people with time bomb fathers can also be insecure or distrustful of others in the workplace.
And even inattentive fathers can influence their children’s development in the workplace because they always instill in their children the idea of avoiding difficulties and giving up on challenges in the workplace. But the children of such fathers often achieve unexpected success in the workplace and become a completely different type of person from their fathers because of their rebellious attitude toward their fathers. They also often become so dissatisfied with their leaders that they start their own businesses and become their own bosses.
Bolter notes that different types of fathers can have different effects on their children at work, influencing whether they get along with colleagues, whether they are entrepreneurial, whether they worry too much about work, whether they work hard, and whether they can be bosses.
Bolt said, “I’ve seen a lot of people struggle in the workplace and hit a glass ceiling (a barrier that doesn’t seem to be there but is actually up there) or a concrete wall, and that’s what I call the father factor. What role has your father played in your life? It’s an unknowable variable, but it must have an important impact on us because we’re all sons and daughters.”
Porter also noted, “Many people will say, ‘I never knew my father,’ when in fact, you knew your mother’s resentment toward him, your anger toward him, your belief that he was a loser. So please believe me, you do know your father.”
He argues, “The influence of a father on a person in the workplace is definitely like a well-kept secret that has not been discovered by most people.”
William Polak, professor of psychology and director of the Men’s Center at Harvard Medical School’s McLean Hospital, also said, “There’s a lot of research that confirms that parents influence not only their children’s personalities through family life, but also their children’s ability to deal with people in social interactions. And for both men and women, the role that fathers play in their lives can be reflected in their relationships with leaders in the workplace.”