Overbearing Parents Helicoptering Way Into Adult Children's Offices

Being young and fledgling in today's challenging employment market is tough for job seeking twentysomethings. But it's even tougher when those job seekers' parents can't resist the urge to further infantilize their offspring by interfering in their professional lives. Yes, "helicopter parenting" has made its way from the preschool to the prep school to the college, and now it's made its way to the workplace. Isn't every generation just awful?

Apparently parents have spent so much time Buster Bluth-ifying their children that the children have grown into mentally malformed kidults incapable of negotiating their own salaries or wiping their own asses. As a result, Mom and Dad are doing things like calling their grown-ass child's boss or submitting their resumes without their spawn's knowledge. It's really for the best. Don't be embarrassed of mother, dear. She's just trying to help you.

Though it might sound far-fetched, NPR reports helicopter adulting is much more common that you might think. According to a recent survey of 700 employers, 1/3 say that they've witnessed a parent submit their child's resume for consideration without the child's knowledge, 1/4 have said they've had a parent call them, urging the employer to hire their progeny, and 4% have said that a parent went so far as to show up for a job interview. The kid's job interview.

As could be expected, many employers don't like this, as it could be indicative of spinelessness in applicants or foreshadowing of extraordinary levels of pain-in-the-ass from parents, should their child be hired.

But some experts are recommending that employers adjust to the new reality of helicopter parenting in the office. One expert told NPR that the best thing workplaces could do is just go with the parental energy and maybe channel it into something worthwhile rather than fighting it. As an example, one expert offers the example of colleges that have created Offices of Parent Relations.

Dudes, no. This sounds like a fucking nightmare. I'd rather live in a garbage can with my pet worm and girlfriend Grundgetta yelling at strangers all day than have my mom calling my boss to make sure I didn't wipe my spaghetti sauce-covered hands all over my brand new jumper. Can someone please teach all of the parents to play particularly addictive video games or something? This has gotten completely out of hand.

Helicopter Parents Hover in the Workplace [NPR]