What to do if your boss asks to be your Facebook friend?

I don’t think it’s odd anymore for co workers to expect to be on each others facebooks but-
if I were your husband, I’d create a specific account just for adding co workers. He doesn’t have to login to it often if he doesn’t want to but he’ll be able to accept every one of co worker requests without feeling hemmed in. I did this for co workers past and present and also one account for family members. I accept every request if I remotely know the person but rarely if ever do I post or login except to place a few benign photos- keeps everyone off my back really and let my “friends” facebook be an easy, safe and fun place.

I think she was dead wrong to make the request. I understand his discomfort, and wish, for his sake, he’d been able to politely say no. Having to watch what he says on his page will be very difficult for him.

It depends on his relationship with his boss. I’d have no issue if my boss asked me to be friends on FB (not that she’d ever be on FB, but anyway) but we have a hazy, close relationship. He can put her on limited profile.

If you’ve read any of the horror stories about becoming friends with co-workers on Facebook, your concern is understandable. Some work relationships are such that it isn’t surprising that they befriend each other on Facebook. Two of my direct reports sent requests, and both were accepted; I have nothing to hide from them.

Your husband’s supervisor gets a quiet applaud in my book for asking him first. The FB software has the capability to set up a group that is limited to specific information posted on an account. Should he decide that he wants to limit her access to his information, he can do so.

I think it’s a serious breach of employer/employee edicate.
Make sure your husband doesn’t post anything about getting plenty high this past weekend.

I don’t use Facebook, or have a boss…but if I did No….Hell no Big difference between Co-workers and Friends….

To me it depends on your relationship with your boss/supervisor. I find that on fb I am usually a watered-down, moderated version of my self anyway so it wouldn’t bother me (I don’t use it to bitch about my job or to use foul language, e.t.c, I also have alot of family on mine, and a reputation to uphold). That said, I have 3 bosses, 2 of which I wouldn’t mind being fb friends with, the other, well that would be weird lol.

I would have said no. Too many stories of employees getting fired over comments made on Facebook. I don’t care how well an employee and supervisor get along, I just think there should be a line drawn between professional relationships, and all other relationships.

To me, she put him in a very awkward position.

i asked a similar question about 4 months ago. If you search for it you will find it. Something like “Would you friend your supervisor on Facebook?”

Long story short to my situation, I decided not to friend mine. Instead, she friended me, about a month ago. Others that I work with are in her FB anyway, so it’s one happy FB work family. She is the coolest boss – one of the coolest I have ever had. She has the ability to keep separate work and play. I work for the government so it’s pretty liberal as far as what you do with your free time is your free time, and work is only between 9 and 5. That said, I don’t drink or do anything crazy anyway, so I am not worried about anything embarassing from my end. From her end, it’s family and recreation stuff so we’re all good.

I’m friends with my boss on Facebook, I don’t see any harm in it if you have nothing to hide.

Can he just set up a filter so she only sees very select things he allows?

He should limit what she can see, and move other coworkers to that list as well. The rationale “I prefer to keep my personal life and work like separate” is a valid explanation. We have a manager that checks FB activity when people call in sick, to see what they’re up to.

@BarnacleBill: the boss checking FB activity was my reason not to request the boss’s friendship in the first place. For the manager you are talking about, if the worker ups the privacy settings then the manager would not be able to see that stuff. for myself, my boss is really cool, and has an attitude like we’re not married to our work, so i’m not concerned about that part. plus I don’t usually put my whole life’s details on FB anyway.

I agree with what @BarnacleBill said. Keeping your personal life and professional life separate saves trouble. But if you see him/her as a friend, maybe it won’t be a problem though.

He can retain this FB friendship, while using customized permissions, to drastically limit what his boss sees. But what a pain in the A—makes everyone want to have 2 FB accounts.

He can also, quietly, much later, after slowing his visibility down to a trickle for her, cancel this friendship. I do not think she will be informed.

I have a dear friend whom I introduced to FB, who recently said that some of my friends’ posts and mine embarrassed him in front of clients and fellow professionals. I am arty—some of my friends have nude avatars. General artistic outrageousness abounds including many nude images.

He is a CPA. I changed his settings not to receive my posts or those of my friends although he can go to my page and I can go to his. That solved his dilemma. [I am now building him a professional page to make another 6 degrees of separation.

Say yes, and don’t mess up on your facebook.

I am friends with my Department Chair who is one of my closest RL friends. Recently, another colleague who is the department PIA friended me and I didn’t feel I could say no. However, since I have many family members also on my list, I am very careful about what I post there and this new event makes it even less likely that I will expose very much there.