The internet based social networking site Facebook has grown at a rapid rate over the last several years. The site, only a few short years ago, was used exclusively by college students but has now made the jump into the mainstream.
As with any fledgling technology, the etiquette in Facebook is still evolving, and there are no hard and fast rules/social norms governing how it should be used. One decision that many Facebook users struggle with is whether or not they should befriend their coworkers or keep their account isolated from the workplace. This is especially true of buisness owners or individuals in upper managment that recieve friend requests from their staff.
According to a recent survey developed by OfficeTeam, nearly half of executives are uncomfortable being friended by the employees they manage (48 percent) or their bosses (47 percent ). While a slight majority (51%) wouldn’t mind friending colleagues. When it comes to clients Only 7% said they’d be “very comfortable” having clients as Facebook friends; 50% said they would not like it.
If you do decide to add your coworkers as friends here are some tips from OfficeTeam to make life a little easier:
- You’re tagged in an embarrassing photo. Untag yourself and change your privacy settings so photos are viewable only by your close friends.
- You’re friended by someone you don’t want to connect with. It might be best to accept friend requests from colleagues to avoid slighting them, but add them to a “work” list and adjust your privacy settings so you can effectively separate your job from your personal life.
- You’re considering friending your boss. It may seem like a natural extension of amiable office small talk, but think twice before proactively friending your boss. It could become awkward for both of you.
- You want to join various groups. You should join groups that interest you. But if you have colleagues in your network and don’t want them to see the groups you join, remember to adjust your application settings.
- You would like to be a fan of certain pages. Becoming a fan of pages on Facebook is visible to anyone who can view your profile, so you should avoid becoming a fan of any page you are uncomfortable sharing with coworkers or business contacts in your network.
- You love quizzes. Stop and think for a moment before taking online quizzes and posting the results to your Facebook page — unless you want professional contacts to know which Gilligan’s Island character you most resemble.
“The line between personal and professional has grown increasingly blurred as more people use social networking websites for business purposes,” said Robert Hosking, executive director of OfficeTeam. “Although not everyone is comfortable using sites like Facebook to connect with professional contacts, it’s wise to be prepared for these types of requests.” Hosking advises employees on Facebook to familiarize themselves with privacy settings and create different friend lists to control how — and with whom — information is shared. “Individuals should classify their professional contacts into a ‘work’ list and limit what personal details this group can view,” said Hosking.
Respondents were asked, “How comfortable would you feel about being ‘friended’ by the following individuals on Facebook?”
| Your boss | Your coworkers | People you manage | Clients | Vendors | |
| Very comfortable |
19% |
13% |
12% |
7% |
6% |
| Somewhat comfortable |
28% |
38% |
32% |
34% |
23% |
| Not very comfortable |
15% |
13% |
15% |
17% |
24% |
| Not comfortable at all |
32% |
28% |
33% |
33% |
38% |
| Don’t know |
6% |
8% |
8% |
9% |
9% |
|
100% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
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