Friends who work together stay together? No, that’s not how it goes, you see the tricky thing about friends, and the key to long-lasting friendships is not to see each other often. Too much of a good thing, in this case, your friend working with you might be a bad idea it’s a danger zone.
But what if your friend insists on getting a job where you work, I mean as a good friend you would want your friend to move up the corporate ladder right? Well, have a look at why it’s a bad idea to have your friend working at your job.
Is it a good idea to work with your best friend?
“Dear Sindi, I have a best friend who has been looking for a job for longer than 6 months, she has been trying but has not been able to land anything. I on the other hand work for a company that is currently hiring new employees, I think my friend would be perfect for the job. My concern is that the friendship might be ruined, we have worked together in the past and it did not work out. What should I do? If she gets the job I will be her direct supervisor“. – Ana, Minnesota
7 Reasons why your friend working at your job is a bad idea
Your friend working at your job is a bad idea, working together can ruin the friendship because the lines of authority can be blurred.
Line of authority
What if you become your friend’s supervisor, imagine drinking during the weekend and going wild with your friend knowing and seeing the wild you, but come Monday, you have to call her to order. The lines of authority can be blurred, your friend might think, why should I listen to my friend?
This can be hell for you because you will try to be a good friend but at the same time you have to do everything to keep your job, no friendship is ever worth being unemployed for, use your head.
Pro tips: Have a frank discussion before your friend applies to your place of work, and talk about what will happen to the friendship if the two of you have a fight at work.
Things can change
Never mind you being her boss but what if she gets a promotion and becomes your boss? As someone who has worked at the company longer than she has this will have you feeling a tiny bit jealous, even though you won’t admit it but your green-eyed monster will appear, you can keep the jealousy to yourself you do not have to tell your friend that you are jealous but its only human to become a little envious should she be your boss. Remember when one of you is in charge you will no longer be equals no matter how hard you try to make her feel at home.
Workplace conflict
Okay, let’s say you get your friend the job but she becomes a total nightmare to work with. She might not have the work ethic that is required and guess who will have to accept the blame if she starts slacking off at work, you.
You know your friend as someone who you can share your deepest secrets with and not as a colleague. What if she is always late, never does the work, and is a general mess of a coworker? Because you recommended her to your boss you will have to be the one to tell her to get her act together.
Competitiveness
This happens all the time, your friend will want to prove herself to the big boss, and what happens when all of a sudden she starts getting all the praise, what happens when the job you used to do gets given to her? Then out comes the competitiveness in both of you, and one or both of you will walk around thinking my friend wants to be me, maybe you will be right or maybe you will be wrong. The point is you have the potential to overwork yourself doing things such as sucking up to the boss just to get one up over your friend, it’s exhausting.
Too much time spent together
Yes, it’s one thing to love your friend but another to always be in each other’s faces. You might not think it’s a big deal but you can internalize some of the things that happen at work. And maybe your friend will be reporting to you as her supervisor, she might take the criticism and reprimanding that you give her personally. She might not be able to separate the you that is her best friend and the you that is her supervisor, this can end badly.
When you work with your friend it can get a little boring when you get together during the weekends what will you talk about besides work? You would have probably spent much of the working hours filling each other in on your personal lives.
Lack of boundaries
I know for me, if I was working with my friend there is no way that I would be able to respect boundaries all the time. Why would I? A power dynamic can be at play here, what if you have to tell your friend to do something and have it ready by a certain date and she doesn’t do it? Are you ready for the consequences?
It is best to treat work, well as work because it is work, and it does not have anything to do with being friends, if your friend wont be able to listen and abide by the rules that you set as her supervisor then it is not going to work.
Conflict of interests
It’s a bad idea, girl, it is a bad one, unless your friend really needs the job don’t do it The beauty of friendship has to do with the warmth and closeness the two of you have, working together might dampen things.
Should you work with your friend?
No, you should not work with your friend and If you are still not convinced that working with your friend is a bad idea here are some reasons:
- She may criticize you and you may criticize her
- What if she reports late and you are her supervisor?
- What if she is a bad coworker in general?
- What if she engages in workplace gossip?
- What if she uses the company funds for her personal things?
Conclusion
Working with your friend may or may not work but it usually never works out. Only when the two friends are mature enough to separate work from friendship does it work and even then it is only a small percentage of friendships that stand the test of time.