Should You Become Friends with Every New Employee?

It’s only natural to hire people you like to work at your company. However, there’s a fine line between having a friendly-yet-professional relationship with an employee and actually being friends. Crossing into friend territory can be detrimental for both your personal well-being and your company.

At first glance, having an office filled with your friends seems like the best idea ever. Things may run smoothly on the surface for awhile, but eventually they’ll implode. Learn why you need to keep interactions with your employees at a strictly business level.

3 Reasons Why You Don’t Need to Be Everybody’s Friend

As a naturally charismatic person, you probably make friends very easily, but you need to know when to draw the line. Learn three reasons why you shouldn’t befriend your entire staff:

People Won’t Own Their Work

It’s only natural to want to impress your friends — especially when your friend is your boss. When you’re friends with your employees, they focus more on trying to produce results that please you, instead of actually taking ownership of their tasks. Expect people to do whatever you say, with little-to-no pushback or suggestions, because it’s not the work they really care about.

Your Team Won’t Bond

Your company should be the common glue holding your team together — not their friendship with you. If everyone is friends with you, your individual relationship with each person will shape the cultural hierarchy and that just don’t work. It’s important for your business to function as its own entity and that can’t happen if you’re at the center of all interactions. Step aside and let things run independently if you want the company to have a lasting future.

It Will Stress You Out

No one likes to call their friends out for bad behavior, but if you’re their boss, you may actually have to discipline them. When you have a personal relationship with someone, it’s only natural to want to put their feelings first, but this will cause your company to suffer. Mixing business and pleasure is an age-old taboo for a very good reason.

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