'Princess Attitude': Dad Defended For Firing Teen Daughter

Members of a popular internet forum showed support for one man's decision to fire his own daughter.

Posting on Reddit's r/AmITheA**hole, Redditor u/EmptyCold7477 (otherwise known as the original poster, or OP) said that both of his teenage children worked at his restaurant but revealed how a series of employee complaints led to his 17-year-old daughter's termination.

Titled, "[Am I the a**hole] for firing my daughter[?]" the post has received more than 4,000 upvotes and 500 comments in the last day.

"My son is 19 and my daughter is 17," OP explained. "Whereas my son will come in early, do the little 'extra' things when nobody is looking and will just really put his nose to the grindstone, my daughter is not that."

After noticing a handful of problems, like texting on the job and showing up to work between 30 and 45 minutes late, the original poster said he confronted his daughter and was assured "she'd shape up."

Unfortunately, shaping up was never in the cards.

Explaining that he periodically meets with each of his staff members to discuss workplace issues before they become larger problems, the original poster said that recently, his daughter was a main subject of discussion.

"It became glaring that, after talking to everyone...that my daughter was just not a team player," OP wrote. "One of my staff called it a 'princess attitude,' I guess thinking she was teflon because I'm the owner."

"Privately, I told my daughter that I loved her, but that I just couldn't run a business where one person is not willing to work as a part of the team. I let her go," OP continued. "When I got home, my wife was enraged [and] asked me how I could fire our little girl."

Despite certain tax breaks and in many cases—family traditions, business owners employing their own children can quickly become risky business.

Because of nepotism, favoritism and the inability to separate parenting and employment, children of business owners often receive preferential treatment and benefits not always available to other employees.

In 2016, Business Insider published an advice column responding to a disgruntled office employee complaining about a Netflix-watching, lazy coworker who also happened to be their boss' daughter.

Acknowledging the pitfalls associated with working alongside the boss' kid, former Business Insider creative director Ashley Lutz recommended employees faced with similar situations gently inform problem coworkers that their slacking is harmful and distracting for others in the office, as well as their ability to work efficiently.

Lutz also recommended taking the issue to their boss or, in this case, their parent.

"If things don't improve after you've confronted the right people, I would tactfully have a conversation with the owner," Lutz wrote. "Because he or she is paying this person, they should know about a toxic situation affecting productivity."

During his individual meetings with staff members, the original poster said he had this exact type of conversation multiple times, and was forced to choose between keeping his business running smoothly and turning a blind eye to his daughter's disruptive behavior.

Ultimately, the former prevailed and the original poster let his daughter go, much to his wife's dismay.

Throughout the comment section of his viral post, however, Redditors commended OP for listening to his staff, while questioning his wife for defending their daughter despite blatantly poor workplace performance.

"[Not the a**hole]," Redditor u/parfait-keyy wrote in the post's top comment, which has received more than 7,000 votes. "Your wife is actually helping the 'princess' attitude with this.

"She didn't do her job [and] was pretty s**tty to her coworkers so it's only fair that she's unemployed now," they continued. "Pulling the 'how could you fire our little girl?!' [is] pretty messed up."

Redditor u/Locutus747 offered a similar response.

"You talked to your daughter and she didn't change her behavior," they commented. "You were paying someone to not do their job, show up late, and act entitled."

"Keeping her on would just create resentment with the other staff who are actually doing their jobs," they added.

In a separate comment, which has received more than 1,300 votes, Redditor u/penniless_tenebrous was simple in their assessment of the viral post and offered a potential silver lining for the original poster's difficult decision.

"[Not the a**hole]," they wrote. "Hopefully she learns a valuable lesson from this."

Newsweek reached out to u/EmptyCold7477 for comment.