Children who grow up in the shadows of overbearing parents may later try to mimic their carer’s success to gain approval. A 2021 survey by global recruitment platform Joblist showed that 65% of respondents ended up in the career or industry they felt their parents wanted for them. Whether implicit or explicit, says Leff, that kind of parental pressure “can lead to challenges in an adult child really choosing from their core what they like or want”. This isn’t just in terms of a career path, but also in “relationships and appearance”, too.
