Mikhaila Friel
- My twin sister and I have been coworkers twice.
- The first time we worked together was for a family business, which was stressful.
- Years later, we worked together at a local mall, where customers often got us mixed up.
When I started working at my local shopping mall in 2016, I brought a swirl of confusion to my coworkers — and customers.
My identical twin sister, Aimee, had already worked there for around a year while balancing her studies at dance college. I was also a student and needed a job, so Aimee put in a good word with her manager.
I was hired as a part-time general operative shortly after an interview. My role involved working alongside my sister in the food court, cleaning tables, assisting customers, and cleaning the restrooms and the managers' offices.
But when my first day rolled around, it became clear that Aimee and my new manager had failed to mention that I was a twin to our coworkers.
When I arrived at the food court, ready to start my first shift, another worker approached me with a confused grin. She started chatting as if she knew me and asked why I was in the food court when I was supposed to be working at a different station.
I realized she had mistaken me for Aimee, who was working on the floor above us.
I told the worker that Aimee was my twin, and her grin morphed into a laugh. She couldn't believe it.
Many customers had the same reaction. Some would stop to ask me if I had a twin after seeing Aimee and I work together or in different parts of the mall on the same day.
Others assumed I had super speed, going from one part of the mall to the other in record time, when they were actually just seeing my sister and I at different work stations.
Of course, I should have prepared for these reactions. It wasn't the first time my sister and I had worked together.
We worked together at our family business as teenagers
The shopping mall was our second attempt to be coworkers.
When we were in high school, Aimee and I worked at our parents' fish and chip shop in our hometown.
As Aimee was more outgoing, she worked out front with the customers, while I usually stayed in the back, cleaning the dishes and doing other chores.
It was a great experience, and it made sense that my parents wanted us to work at the shop. It helped instill a work ethic in both of us, and it was inspiring to see my mom and dad work hard at something they were passionate about.
However, as you can probably imagine, working with family had some drawbacks. I remember countless family arguments and moments of tension caused by the stress of running a business.
Even when we weren't working, all my family seemed to talk about was the shop. It wasn't healthy for my relationship with my sister or my parents.
My parents decided to close the shop around four years after it first opened. It was a bittersweet decision, but we all knew it was the right thing for our family.
Things were different when Aimee and I worked at the mall. We weren't emotionally attached to our work this time because the stakes weren't as high.
If we made a mistake at work or got frustrated with a coworker, we could leave it at the door.
As a result, our relationship flourished. We genuinely enjoyed working together, and to this day, we still share inside jokes and funny stories about our time at the mall.
The experience taught me that there are benefits to working with siblings, and I'd definitely encourage it — but a family business isn't always the best place to do it.