There is a burning question on many a pair of lips – should you connect with colleagues on social media, or should you leave it in the office?
It’s a tricky one, because many of us form firm friendships at work, and these go over and above the colleague line, and travel towards close friend territory. In that case, of course you’re going to connect on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. In other cases, there are colleagues who stay firmly in the ‘at work’ category, simply in your life around the meeting room tables and nothing else.
It’s a personal choice whether you make the social media connection, but it’s certainly advisable to be very careful about what you post, especially if you’re connecting with management or supervisors! Do not post content which is contentious and certainly not anything to do with your day at work. It’s also a good idea to filter what your work colleagues can see; this can certainly be done on Facebook.
The best advice is to be cautious and to simply keep your interactions around your breakout furniture, rather than in your personal space, with those who really aren’t your close friends. It’s a fact that many businesses now randomly check social media accounts of potential new recruits, so we’re certainly moving towards a more social media-aware work age! This is designed to ensure equality in recruitment, but also to check what type of personality someone has, before making a decision to hire them.
What is your take on this rather debatable subject? Yes or no?