Image Credits: Business Insider
Without a question, social media is a fantastic way to remain in touch with friends and family.
When workmates are thrown into our digital lives, regrettably, the distinctions between our work and social lives disappear. Before adding your coworkers on social media, consider if you’re okay to allow this individual to see your posts.
Our coworkers are frequently also our buddies. We spend the entire day with them, so they’re certain to learn something about us over the months. Adding a coworker will give you a better idea of how they are outside of the workplace and might help you form a tight-knit team and provide you with topics to discuss. It isn’t always a bed of roses, though.
Read for reasons why you should not add your colleagues on social media.
Awkwardness
Although more information is empowerment, it may also lead to discomfort, especially if you know what a coworker has been up to in their spare time. They may have skipped work for the day owing to health conditions, but if they’ve been tagged in images getting wasted at a bar in the wee hours of the morning, that can be accessed on your social media feed. Knowing how they act outside of the office may blur the perception of borders between personal and professional behavior over time.
No 100% control
Image Credits: Business Insider
Even if you’re familiar with your social media sites’ privacy options, they are constantly changing, and you may not have the degree of control over the content you believe you have. Yes, while you can maintain your profiles carefully, being mentioned in an embarrassing status posted by a friend is out of your control. Giving your employees a front-row ticket to a potentially damaging post on social media might harm your good name at the workplace and make you wish you could turn back time.
Saying the wrong things
You never know when the impulse to say anything nasty about your job is so powerful that you mistakenly talk badly about the company or a teammate, whether it’s because you’re extremely upset or drunk, or just because you’ve forgotten they are one of your “friends”. Even if the individual you’re criticizing doesn’t have access to your profile, another colleague may, and if they’re very close to them, might reveal your negative remark. We all have slip-ups at times but these mistakes can cost us big time.
Coworkers frequently request that you follow them on social media; this is particularly true if you work in the creative field. It’s quickly becoming the preferred method of keeping in touch. But it’s undeniable that social media blurs the divide between business and personal life. While this might help you better connect with your colleagues, it also puts a strain because any uncomfortable or insensitive occasion could impact your job or office interactions. Before you add your coworkers on social media, stop and think twice.
