Think twice before ‘friending’ your employees
What do you do when you get that e-mail from Facebook saying so-and-so, who happens to work for you, wants to be your friend?
And if you’re the one who made the request to “friend” your boss, was it the right thing to do in the first place?
It may be all the rage to profess online bosom buddyness on social network sites like Facebook. But not everyone is interested. Especially your boss, who might feel downright awkward about the whole notion.
Apparently a lot of them do feel weird about it, as shown by a recent poll developed by the staffing service OfficeTeam, which randomly surveyed senior executives at large companies.
Asked how comfortable they felt about being “friended” by employees they manage, 48 percent said they were uncomfortable about it. Why?
Human resources consultant Linda Konstan doesn’t want to get that chummy. When asked, she tells employees, “As much as I’d love to be your friend, it’s very difficult to review your friend.”
Jim Andrews, a senior vice president for a Chicago company, adopted a no-friending policy for co-workers and employees, explaining to them that “It’s not personal and doesn’t mean I don’t like them … but that I don’t think it’s appropriate.”
Yes, social networking Web sites can be and are used for business purposes. But don’t assume everyone wants to make contact with you this way. In particular, your boss.
If you’re using your Facebook profile for your career, then inviting your boss – and co-workers – might be a good idea, says Dan Schwabel, author of “Me 2.0.” But it’s another thing if Facebook is for keeping in touch with close friends and sharing private information.
First, read your company’s social networking policy. Schwabel points to a survey by Proofpoint that said so far this year 8 percent of employers sacked someone for their behavior on sites like Facebook and LinkedIn.
And keep in mind that Facebook can always do more harm than good because it wasn’t built as a professional career network, said Schwabel.