I thought it would be a good idea to work for a small company owned by a seemingly caring family. Dad and mom were the CEOs, but the person who really ran the company (literally, ran around the office) was their 3-year-old daughter.
In addition to their family, there were maybe a few dozen of us in the office at a time. We were in an open office space, and while mom and dad worked, their daughter had near free reign around the building. At first, it wasn't so bad, because she could sit on the floor with a comfy blanket and tablet to watch content. We were allowed to use headphones while working, so it wasn't too big of a distraction.
As the company grew, so did her need for attention. Myself and our co-workers were mostly in our 20s, and we would take turns on our break to color with her, stylize her hair, play with her toy horses, etc. Since we were essentially their free daytime babysitters, her parents didn't really mind or notice.
I learned quickly to never underestimate the power of a 3-year-old.
One day, on my lunch break, their daughter asked me to find her “ponytails” (hair ties). We searched everywhere until she led me into an empty conference room. There they were, lying suspiciously on a chair in the middle of the room. I grabbed them, turned around, and realized she was holding the bifold doors shut with her tiny bare hands. I was trapped. It was an interior conference room, so no other option to escape out a side door. And I couldn't try to force the doors open from my side, for fear that she would let go and fall, or worse, jam a finger.
I turned around and ignored her, hoping she would lose interest in her sneaky game and run off. Luckily, her mom was finishing up a conference call in the room diagonal to the conference room and walked out to fetch her.
When I stepped out, about to thank her, she looked at me with a disgusted look on her face and simply stated “you don't have to play with her anymore,” and went back to her office. No apology.
We really were nothing more than the family's babysitters. And we fell for it by caring to pay attention to her. This was when I started noticing more of their terrible personalities.
This happened right around the time the company was experiencing financial issues, and were starting to lay off employees. In short, the parents made some bad decisions, and decided to save themselves first (they had just bought a larger home) over the company (layoffs and not paying the few contract workers we had). I was eventually laid off in the coming weeks as they continued to recover from their mistakes.
I now have a different remote job and really do not trust workplaces where you're treated like “family” at work. Unless you enjoy being a free babysitter.