My Boss & My Facebook.

cassanova · #1 05-26-2011, 01:36 PM

For some reason my boss is a bit upset that I have not accepted his friends requests, and that my page is set so that only my friends can see certain things. I tried to politely tell him that I don't mix job and personal life, we see each other five days of the week, and that they all have my home number if they need to get a hold of me. Yet, he seems a tad offended/pissed that I will not add him.

Pilgrim · #2 05-26-2011, 01:39 PM

Stand your ground. Not his business. But be polite...your reason is sound and perfectly acceptable.

MatticusMania · #3 05-26-2011, 01:40 PM

Maybe your boss wants to be a part of your personal life?

fenderhutz · #4 05-26-2011, 01:40 PM

I agree with Pilgrim.

**bassybill** · #5 05-26-2011, 01:40 PM

Tricky. I wouldn't want my boss to friend me on FB. There's nothing bad there to see, but I put stuff on FB to laugh and joke with my friends and talk about social stuff, not work.

I honestly think that in an awkward situation like yours I'd make up some excuse to my boss about not wanting the privacy risks associated with FB and delete my account altogether if it was going to cause friction at work. No way would I "add" him.

iamlowsound · #6 05-26-2011, 01:41 PM

Sounds like a good reason to me, I don't accept friend requests from people at work and I have my setting set like yours. Stand your ground. He can't do anything about it.

lowsound

**Staccato** · #7 05-26-2011, 01:47 PM

Your boss is pushy to say the least!

Recently, we started a private FB 'group' page in a very visible non-profit organization-for the volunteers in our state.
Whether our volunteers have FB, or want to friend that FB group page is entirely their business!

jaywa · #8 05-26-2011, 01:48 PM

What I would really be wary of is your boss wanting access to your FaceBook to "check up" on you (i.e., is that sick day you took really a sick day), or even worse, as a way to "backdoor" you into doing additional work for him/her while you're supposed to be off the clock. Any of which are unreasonably invasive at best and illegal at worst.

Unless you're in a family business or in business with your life partner, it's a good idea to keep your work and social relationships as separated as possible, just on principle.

And that was true even before FaceBook.

MJ5150 · #9 05-26-2011, 01:55 PM

When did you get a job? Last I remember, you were let go.

-Mike

jaywa · #10 05-26-2011, 01:57 PM

I would be interested in how many employers have established a policy on this exact point. I don't think my company has, but I don't do FaceBook so I haven't checked into it.

Yango · #11 05-26-2011, 02:12 PM

I work for a company that recently fired several employees for publicly bashing our clients on facebook. The group that got fired thought it was all in good fun, but the company certainly didn't find it amusing. Too bad for them, it's a pretty stupid reason to get fired from a job that pays very well and has amazing benefits.

My opinion: keep your personal stuff personal (don't post it on facebook), don't 'friend' your boss, and refrain from talking crap about anyone... because you never know, a co-worker that you've 'friended' might show your boss things that you don't want him/her to see. They might think it's funny and you might lose your job. Oops!

**jmattbassplaya** · #12 05-26-2011, 02:13 PM

Don't accept the friend request for any reason. Period. It's not his place to be involved in your personal life. Even if you guys become close friends I would highly suggest not accepting his request (even if you no longer work with him).

L-A · #13 05-26-2011, 02:13 PM

Accept him, put him in the "can't see ****" group. It makes for a much better relationship.

tastybasslines · #14 05-26-2011, 02:15 PM

"Meanwhile, 62% of those surveyed said it's wrong for a manager to befriend an employee on Facebook. And yet 76% of respondents said it was acceptable to befriend a peer on Facebook, suggesting what we truly value is that our work be judged on its merits rather than getting ahead based on personal relationships."

10 fascinating Facebook facts -- and what they say about us - CNN.com

MatticusMania · #15 05-26-2011, 02:18 PM

Simple solution: Dont be on facebook.

tastybasslines · #16 05-26-2011, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MatticusMania

Simple solution: Dont be on facebook.

That's like telling you not to be on TB.

MatticusMania · #17 05-26-2011, 02:21 PM

No its not. My boss isnt trying to "friend" me on here and asking why I dont accept his friendship requests.

Yerf Dog · #18 05-26-2011, 02:22 PM

Tell him, "I'm sorry. My Facebook is full".

**Staccato** · #19 05-26-2011, 02:29 PM

The law office where my wife works uses private investigators (and Facebook searches) in quite a few cases. They take information that can be found in the public realm as evidence in court cases.

It doesn't really make sense to 'friend' everybody, and we should all remember that actions can have consequences!

That said, I've attempted to lock-down my FB page in many ways, and have a short list of friends, there. I'm not worried about the few posts that I make there, because I'm a nice person.

**cheezewiz** · #20 05-26-2011, 03:18 PM

Congrats on the new job. Just ignore the requests and don't bring it up. If he asks just blow it off.