Boss as a Friend

 Think about the ethical implications of managers becoming friendly with their subordinates. Do you think that managers should feel free to socialize and become good friends with their subordinates outside the workplace if they so desire? Why or why not?

          Being a friend at work does not mean that you have to share your deepest, innermost personal secrets with your coworkers. It does not mean having someone at work who you can slack off with by watching YouTube videos all day and taking extended lunches. Or a work friend is not someone who will cover for you while you take a nap in an empty storage room. Having friends at work is important to be able to: stay productive, stay happy and stay sane. Relationships at work can be difficult to balance. Interpersonal skills many times will determine job success (Stafford, 2013).

         In more recent years social media has become part of the formula when developing relationships within the workplace. Workers need to limit their Facebook reach because a friend request can make others (including superiors) uncomfortable. Office Team, an administrative staffing agency, in 2011 discovered that more than 6 out of 10 managers do not want to be “friended” by their bosses or workers they supervise and nearly half do not want to connect with workplace peers (Stafford, 2013).

        If the manager is just an acquaintance with their employees they will not be placed in a situation where they may feel that they make exceptions.  Being a friend with a manager can make other co-workers suspicious that they are being treated unfairly or others are given certain privileges. Being friends with your manager can become complicated. Personal ties can cause the manager’s judgment to become skewed and make it difficult to make tough decisions, evaluate effectively and deliver critical feedback. Personal relationships can produce disappointment for workers, because friction overtime and cause work to become less effective.  A management relationship with workers should be cordial, genuinely caring, open, and positive. Maintaining clear boundaries is an important balance within the workplace and if handled correctly can lead to a productive, satisfying and an effective work environment.  I do not support managers becoming personal friends with their employees (Hill and Lineback, 2011).

Works Cited

Hill, Linda A., and Kent Lineback. "Be the Boss, Not a Friend." Fortune Management Career”. Fortune Magazine, 18 Jan. 2011. Web. 03 Dec. 2013. http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2011/01/18/be-the-boss-not-a-friend/

Stafford, Diane.  “In Her Own Words Bosses, Co-workers Don’t Always Want to be ‘Friends.”

Kansas City Star, 26 September 2013.  http://www.kansas.com/2013/09/26/3021293/bosses-co-workers-dont-always.html#storylink=cpy