In a previous job I started receiving ‘friend’ requests through Facebook from my team members who I didn’t know very well. Not wishing to offend anyone as I was new, I accepted the requests and soon enough I noticed that any weekend activities or photos and status updates by the others were often conversation fodder for Monday morning chit-chat.
It’s a reality for lots of us as the lines between work and social are increasingly blurred. How many of your Facebook friends are your co-workers? It is most common among Gen Y workers and a survey in 2012 found this group had an average of sixteen co-workers on their Facebook friend list.
So how do you handle the overlap between social networking and work without it affecting you professionally? Jane Anderson, speaker, and career coach at Inside Out Training and Coaching says Facebook isn’t the best forum for professional friendships. “ The ideal platform to connect with colleagues is LinkedIn not your personal Facebook page,” Anderson says. She recommends not responding to your colleagues’ Facebook requests and instead sending alternative requests via LinkedIn. To prevent further requests you can set your Facebook profile to ‘Private’.
Managing co-worker connections
If you still want to ‘friend’ a colleague on Facebook or other social networking sites Anderson says the connection needs to be managed so that there aren’t any long lasting repercussions on your personal brand. She cautions that whatever is posted online can be hard to reverse or delete. Ensure you cannot be tagged in incriminating photos. It is also worth being careful when it comes to ‘liking’ certain pages – the key is to stop and think first about how this may reflect on you professionally. Could it cost you a client or a potential employer? If yes and or you’re in doubt, don’t do it!
Neither Facebook or Twitter is an appropriate place to complain about your employer (or your co-workers) especially when you have co-workers among your friends and followers. Although this is just common sense Anderson says it is can be forgotten. “You will rarely be told that your social media or online presence is affecting your career but you might be overlooked for promotions,” she says. In extreme cases people have lost their jobs after posting negative comments about their employers on Facebook.
Changing jobs
What happens to all your co-worker ‘friends’ on Facebook once you change jobs or leave the organisation? Do you stop contact with them or simply block them? Anderson believes this scenario makes LinkedIn the ideal social media network without running the risk of annoying anyone or feeling the need to cut off ties with former colleagues. LinkedIn makes it easy to stay professional and formal with previous colleagues without burning any bridges which adds value to your networking.
Social media can be both inclusive and exclusive so when it comes to discussing social events or looking at photos while at work, Anderson says a little sensitivity is in order. If some people around you won’t know what you’re talking about or you’re not sure if you should share it, then it’s probably best not to mention it.
5 things to consider before accepting a work colleague as a friend on Facebook:
- Could you be tagged in images that might portray you in an unprofessional light? If so your colleagues would be able to see those images.
- Sexual harassment issues have arisen between employees through social media sites. Is that likely to be a problem?
- Knowing that your ‘friend’ and co-worker is at the beach when they call in sick can put you in a compromising position at work. Do you want to be in that situation?
- How familiar do you want your work colleague to be with your personal life? If you share family photos or news from your personal life through Facebook do you want your work colleague to see that?
- Will being friends on social media send a message that you are closer friends than you really are? If you accept a request and your co-worker then starts messaging you often or comments on all of your photos, it might be more awkward to delete them as a friend afterwards.