In television shows, it’s your work friends who are your bridesmaids at your wedding and who show up to the hospital when you have a baby. It seems like that’s how work relationships should be–warm and full of friendship and trust.
In real life, there should be a clear, professional wall between a manager and an employee.
What is a friend?
Social media messed up our definition of “friend.” Someone who is your Facebook friend may or may not be a “friend.” Friends should be people who you are close to and with whom you share personal information.
Your employees (and, frankly, the vast majority of coworkers) should be “acquaintances” or “colleagues.” These are people with whom you are warm and friendly, but keep appropriate boundaries.
To keep reading, click here: Your Employees Want to Be Your Friend—Mostly Because It Helps Their Careers
I was always criticized by coworkers for not extending my time working side by side into a friendship outside the workplace. I didn’t need to be their BFF in order to work with them as a teammate and I don’t see the logic in creating sides of who is part of the favorite group when we all have to work together for the same goal