“Don’t mix business with pleasure.”, “They’re your employees, not your friends”, “Keep your personal life out of the office.” These are all popular sayings that not every employer takes seriously enough. If you’ve seen The Office, a hilarious American sitcom that revolves around the overly involved, friendly and needy office manager Michael then take note! He is the antithesis of EVERYTHING you do not want to be if you’re in a managerial role. Read on and find out why being in the ‘friend role’ is not a good idea.
1- Your employees deserve a personal life
It’s important to keep in mind that the people working for you have a life of their own! They may not want to water down their work life or personal life by combining the two. Yes, it’s important to be aware of what is happening in your employee’s lives but ONLY if there’s a chance it will impact on their availability or productivity at work.
2- Being overly familiar = Trouble (with a capital T!)
With all of the sexual harassment and discrimination laws it’s your word against theirs and in Australia, the law is on the employee’s side. It can be a small remark, a funny joke or just an inquisitive nature that lands you in hot water. It’s just not worth the risk.
3- Playing favourites is a no no!
When it comes to friendships, we are naturally drawn to certain people more than others. This can create a feeling of an uneven playing field for the employees that are not so chummy with you. They maybe under the impression that your friends in the office are likely to receive special treatment and that is a recipe for disaster.
4- Don’t make life harder for yourself
There are duties that a manager needs to execute that ain’t so pretty. It’s hard enough firing someone, having discussions about deadlines, inappropriate behaviour in the office or not showing up for work on time but when it’s a friend you’re speaking too, well that’s 100 times more difficult. Ask yourself, “Am I prepared to approach this person as I would any other employee in the office that I’m not friends with?” Be honest! If the answer is no then take friendship out of the equation.
It’s exceptionally important to recognise that personal life and work life with at some point intersect however, we must be mindful of when this happens and distance ourselves just a little bit. If any of the above points do become an issue it could be detrimental to your business. There’s a difference between being friendly and being friends with your employees …. Remember that.
Signing off!
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