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On the way to work this morning, the talk radio show that I listen to regularly was debating the usefulness of networking tools such as facebook, myspace, and linkedin. I personally don’t use myspace but am a user and fan of facebook and linkedin. Facebook has been a great way for me to keep in touch with my friends who except for a rare few, live states away. Linkedin is a professional networking tool that I think can serve useful if you are seeking job opportunities, expertise advice, or just looking to get connected to someone on a professional level. My employer promotes the use of linkedin and even facebook for some recruiting and networking efforts. But with all of the networking tools out there, coupled with the incredible search ability of google, you need to really think about how much or how little you want to share of yourself. Potential employers can and will google you after an interview and depending on what you put out there, it can help or hurt you.
Over sharing is so easy and common these days, and admittedly, I’m guilty on occasion. I am however more conscious of the fact that words and photos that I post in any virtual world may end up some place that I may not like. For that reason, I’ve become much more thoughtful about what I post online.
MSN featured some articles last week about a couple of guys who over shared on facebook and got busted by their bosses. In the case of one fine chap that you can read about here, he had indicated to his boss via email that a family emergency was going to prevent him from going into work. Turns out, the emergency was more likely that he needed to put his fairy costume together for a Halloween party. Another guy claimed to be ill and then updated his facebook status to indicate that he was recovering from a hangover. The bosses of these facebookers busted them. They got me chuckling … but they got also got me thinking. How much do you share and are your networking profiles public and should you really be “friends” with your bosses on facebook?
it's like the old saying...if you wouldn't say it in front of your mother/father/priest/insert-important-person-here....it's best NOT to say (post) it.
these digital trails will lead back to you FOREVER. good, bad, indifferent...they will define you virtually...and could potentially hurt you on a number of different financial and personal fronts if you're not careful.
Maybe it was best to be very observant when I entered the "working world" YEARS ago. I watched others get chummy chummy with their bosses to the point where the line of work and personal life seemed to disappear. When the industry got shaky and every man seemed to be for themselves, the boss friend barely knew the "co-worker's" name. I've watched others lose their jobs and especially themselves. The ladder they thought they were climbing slipped and fell.
There is a boundary. I can smile and feel safe enough to have an occasional laugh with my boss - but then Excel - HERE I COME!
One more thing - a job Christmas parties is not the place to experiment with shots - all eyes are on you!
I think the idea of having a "professional" persona versus your "real" self is a product of the Industrial Age - which is over. I'm sure during the Agrarian Age farmers didn't have a public self and a personal self. I think in the Information Age you should be friends with your boss (unless he/she is an asshole). Like it or not, if you participate in online social networking, then you have blown your chance to have this professional persona that is only about work and being professional.
I'm with jw on this one. She should always conduct yourself in a manner that would not be embarrassed for your boss to see. That's harder to do when your younger, because of all the sowing your wild oats business - but it's possible.
I'm friends on Facebook with my boss. She sees my updates (which can be stupid at times) and my photos (in which I am always clothed appropriately.)And I can see hers. It allows me to get to know her better, which is good for work, I think.
In the real world, what I've learned from past experience is that you should be friendly with your boss, but not necessarily friends. When the line gets blurred, it's easy to be taken advantage of from a professional level. For example, when I was younger and single, a former boss/friend asked me why I needed to take X day off. I didn't have a family to go home to after work so why did I need time off and why wasn't I clocking more hours in the office? It also turned into a situation where I found myself helping out in the boss's home on a personal/friend level more than I really needed to. Depending on which was easiest, the ex boss chose to speak to me as a friend or a boss. When it came time to part ways, despite the "friendship" I was told: It's not personal. It's just business.
As for the virtual world, I think blogging and all of the social networking tools out there can help to propel your career if you do it wisely. It puts you in touch with people you may not otherwise have the opportunity to connect with. On the other hand, depending on what field you work in, and what you choose to post and reveal about yourself, I think it has the abililty to hurt you. Like it or not, I've learned that as an HR professional, some people hold us to a higher standard in and out of the office. For that reason, I think a level of censorship is appropriate to maintain professionalism.
I have a friend who is a teacher and for fear that some of her students may find her online, she refuses to comment on blogs and is determined to never join facebook.
I worked for a boss who literally hired several friends and family members (nepotism and cronyism). I can say from experience that this does not work well in an office environment where people's livelihoods are at stake.
Office Newb: I'm with you. Also, what I've experienced is that when you cross the friendship line, itbecomes harder to embrace new and better career opportunities for fear that you are letting that friend/boss down.
GenerationXpert: "I think the idea of having a "professional" persona versus your "real" self is a product of the Industrial Age - which is over. " - that's so bang on.
General comments on this: Does being friends with a boss make a mess of old boundaries? Can it lead to awkward moments and tough decisions? Sure. But that doesn't mean it's necessarily a bad idea. We can't spend our careers playing it safe because we're worried about nasty hypotheticals.
Trying to maintain some kind of pristine professional image of yourself and hiding the 'real you' (who only comes out on weekends) in a closet somewhere is a stupid idea that will make you more likely to be miserable at work.
Hi Sara! I totally agree with the "be friendly" but not necessarily friends. I would never friend request a boss from my current place of employment on facebook. (my old job though I probably would because my boss was young and hip and I would go out drinking with her). But as for my current situation, I just have too many embarrassing pics of myself from college or bachelorette parties that I would prefer my boss not see. I like having the pics up there though because I like to share them with my friends who are all spread out across the US and beyond. And I live for seeing people's photo comments. haha. I do have my facebook profile set to private so that you have to friend request me to see my stuff. Question to you: what if your boss friend requests you? Does that start an awkward dynamic at the office if you deny them or just ignore their request all together??
Matt: My original question was really about whether or not you should be friends w/your boss on social networking tools such as facebook. But I do like how the discussion of the pros and cons of friendships with bosses in the real world has come about.
As for my original question, do you really think that your boss really needs to know all your status updates and to see pictures of you and your friends/family out drinking? We all have lives outside of the office but I think that's it's necessary to keep your private life a little bit private from work. My life outside of the office is really who I am. I am a Mom and Wife before anythying, but my company doesn't pay me to do that. I have a job and a purpose and the "real" me who doesn't do my hair on the weekends and walks around with evidence of my baby and dog all over my clothes, doesn't want or need to be seen at work.
I think balance is key. Becoming too close to your boss can lead to situations where you can be taken advantage of or vice versa, but not developing a relationship at all can also hinder career growth.
Jess: Good question! I never thought about that. I highly doubt that my current boss would use facebook. But in the hypothetical, I'd be reluctant to accept the friend request.
I actually asked my boss what s/he thought and the response I got was: I would never friend you. And if you friended me, I'd stop using using it. It sets an unncessary expectation.
What's also interesting is that my boss mentioned that some companies are using a system that allows them to gain access to their employees facebook pages. Scary.
I resisted becoming "friends" with my manager until after I switched teams. I'm "friends" with a few people on facebook with whom I'm not friends with in real life because my theory is: keep your friends close and your enemies closer. This means that I heavily censor what I choose to share on facebook, but it also gives me a window into how other people think.
I think the example of the intern being caught in a lie by his boss is a perfect example why we have to change the way we work. In corporate America today too much emphasis is being placed on time in the office and not productivity. With the tools available today, work no longer needs to happen on a 9 to 5 schedule or only between Monday through Friday. A person instead should be evaluated based on their results. Companies such as Best Buy are already implementing these ideas by throwing out schedules, making meetings optional, and promoting their employees based on results (not on seniority or time in the office). While this system would seem incredibly inefficient and counterproductive, the new management style has resulted in increased productivity and reduced employee turnover.
Employees at Best Buy meet with their managers to establish their goals for a given month, and then it is up to the employee to figure out how to achieve those goals. It is a mistake to think of these employees as islands; however, because the entire point of the system is to make communication more efficient because employees control how they solve their own problems. If they need training they can request it, if they want to collaborate with others they can set a meeting (of course they must convince other people that the meeting will not be a waste of time), but the point is they control their own destiny.
One example the creators highlight that I think would fit well with the intern mentioned above, is of a guy who would work 90 hour weeks for the first two weeks of the month, and then take a trip for the other two weeks of the month. Oddly enough, this employee became incredibly productive because now he could manage his own schedule. This story repeats itself over and over in the Best Buy system where employees can decide whether its necessary for them to come into work at all each day.
Obviously, that system was not in place for that particular employee, and so he should not have done what he did. However, with our lives becoming more and more public and the definition of work changing, I think it is time that we have a real dialogue to discuss the use of social media in the workplace.
Brett,
I like your comments and your thoughts on the topic. However, I'm reluctant to believe that the intern who faked a family emergency was in need of vacation and work flexibility time. Sorry, but I think he was just in need of party recovery time. But we've all been there at some point in our lives. If he hadn't been so careless as to post the photo in an area where his boss could see it, we probably wouldn't be discussing him today. Live and learn.
I believe in work flexibility and couldn't agree with you more on the fact that a 9-5 schedule doesn't and shouldn’t have to apply to everyone. I balance a schedule where I'm in the office 3 days a week and telecommute from home the other 2. On the days that I'm logged in from home, my company doesn't expect me to be glued to my pc from 9-5. I just need to make sure that my work is done and my goals are met. I think more companies need to offer this to their employees, especially those who are balancing careers and family. (Hmm, am I revealing that my days in my 20’s are soon ending here?)
I don't believe that someone needs to clock 90 hours a week to be viewed as productive. Frankly, I think some people stay in the office longer than they need to for perception reasons. Our society breeds this. If you can get the same amount of work done in half the time as me, then you’ve worked smarter. I’m all for that.
While I think your example of Best Buy is great, I’m wondering how far across the company does the approach apply. Don’t a core group of people such as clerks, cashiers, floor salespeople and the perhaps the warehouse people need to have hard schedules? Wouldn’t the place collapse if everyone decided that they could achieve their goals by coming in at noon that day?
Back to that intern -- Iterns are at a company to learn a job and company to explore career path or in hopes of gaining a full time job. Most internship programs are for a set period of time. I don't think a flex schedule would work, and nor should it be available.
I agree with jwphoto, as if information you are publishing can be used against you, then didn't do it. Don't say anything which can fire back and mainly use the rule: think before you say anything. I think there is nothing wrong in being friends with your boss on Facebook, just remember that when you write something. Jill from complete dry dog food.
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