Vergeet zondag Vaderdag niet! 16 JUN 2023 You would almost forget, but next Sunday it's Father's Day again! And that is the opportunity to put your father in the spotlight. Father, you know that man who cuts the meat on Sundays, we also have many of those at Pan Oston, because as a company with a family character, family is important to us. There is the family day, but we don't forget the holidays either. Generations working together In addition to the focus on family, we are also proud that we have several generations working within the company. It therefore regularly happens that daughter or son follow in the 'footsteps' of fathers, including Pan Oston. Everyone can imagine that this can also cause challenges. Because what is it like to work for the same company with your father? Do you take your work home with you? Or is that a taboo at the kitchen table? We asked a number of experts. Fathers and daughters, fathers and sons Heico Booijink has been working for Pan Oston for years as COO. His son Rico is doing a master's degree in Strategic Management at Tilburg University and started at a young age to work some hours after school at Pan Oston and also during the holidays. Over the years he has worked in various departments, including Service, Finance and Logistics. This way you learn a lot and gain broad experience in the company. René Noordman is production manager at Pan Oston and has recently gained a colleague in the person of his daughter Romy, who recently started as a commercial project coordinator at the project team Netherlands. The service department at Pan Oston is led by Gert van den Heuvel, his daughter Madelin works as an administrative assistant. First day getting used to According to Heico, it is good that he and Rico do not work directly together in a hierarchical relationship: 'that would not work well, we would not be able to run a company together as father and son, as you sometimes hear'. For Romy it feels very natural to work for the same company as her father René. They are not directly related to each other in terms of work content, they actually only meet each other in the canteen and occasionally in the corridors. Madelin and Gert have more overlap, Madelin also does a lot of work for the service department. 'The first day in particular took some getting used to, especially what to call him. At home it's Dad, of course, but you don't do that here, and I'm not going to call him by his first name either, I'm not used to that. But we have now found our way into it. Discuss at the kitchen table? Work is regularly discussed at home, says Madelin: 'during the day you don't talk to each other that much, and then you soon talk about it at home, but we try not to do it too much'. Gert: 'Otherwise we will be corrected by my wife, who then says boys, not now!'. Rico thinks it's useful to have those short lines at home; 'this way you can quickly ask or find out something and discuss something in the evening or at the weekend'. No morning mood In general, Pan Oston starts early in the morning, but nobody really suffers from a morning mood: 'that's more on the mother's side' jokes Heico. René: 'I would rather start at six than at seven'. This is not an issue for Gert and Madelin either. Hard workers De vaders worden unaniem als de hardste werkers aangeduid. Heico gaat regelmatig ’s avonds door, of werkt in het weekend als dat nodig is. Ook Gert maakt lange dagen, Madelin: ‘hij is wel een beetje een workaholic, geen 9 tot 5 mentaliteit, wat dat betreft heb ik goede genen’. Ook René kan slecht stilzitten: ‘als ik niet voor het werk bezig ben is het wel thuis, of voor anderen, voor Romy of voor één van mijn andere kinderen’. Eerst even de loterij winnen! Op de vraag wie van beiden het eerst miljonairsstatus zou bereiken zegt Heico: ‘als we tegelijk zouden beginnen heeft Rico daar de beste papieren voor, maar nu hoop ik dat ik het ben!’. Gert haalt zijn schouders op: ‘ik heb daar geen behoefte aan’. Madelin: ‘Haha, dan ben ik het… duurt nog wel even hoor, eerst even de loterij winnen!’ René grapt ‘ik ben het al!’ maar geeft Romy de meeste kans, zij heeft tenslotte nog een hele toekomst voor zich. Klushelden De vaders trekken aan het langste eind als het gaat om handigheid. Madelin tegen Gert: ‘nou ja, jij kan alles, qua klusjes roep ik vaak: hé pap? Gert wil alles wel aanpakken, ‘alles is te leren’. René komt ook als de meest handige uit de bus, maar zegt ook dat Romy echt wel handig is en zich wel redt met heel veel dingen: ‘Ze zit bij een carnavalsvereniging dus als ze moet lassen dan last ze, en als ze moet schilderen dan schildert ze, en als ze een grote trekker moet wegrijden dan doet ze dat ook’. Romy: Nou, ik vind het gewoon leuk om allemaal dingen uit te proberen, ik ben niet gauw bang’. Bij Heico en Rico blijft het een beetje in het midden, waar het gaat om klussen en met de handen werken is Heico de meest handige, Rico is dan weer meer thuis in het gebruik van de smartphone, laptop en software. Heico: ‘ ik denk dat dat ook wel een beetje een generatie-dingetje is’. 'I just want to win!' The older guard is generally the best against losing, only with Heico and Rico it is the other way around. 'I don't think it matters much to you,' says Madelin about Gert, who agrees that he is too sober for that. But if Madelin lost, the Monopoly board didn't fly across the room before: 'No, that's not in us'. Romy has no problem losing, but just wants to win. René lets it go a bit easier, but 'it depends on the subject of course…'. deel