Being friends with your boss: benefits and drawbacks – Online Psychologists

A good relationship with your coworkers and boss can be great or end up being a drama.

Even if you don't believe it, we went through an average of 1764 hours per year at work. It is certainly enough time to create bonds with our colleagues. Sometimes the relationships are so close and intimate that a friendship is created, but what about with the boss? Is that a good thing?

The study conducted by Rutgers University indicates that Creating a bond with our peers is not a problem, but a benefitProductivity in an office where there is a good level of complicity increases exponentially. Trust in the work environment helps when it comes to participating and getting involved in tasks and objectives. Seen this way, it seems like an idyllic scenario, but does the same happen when friendship arises with the boss?

We will explain to you in parts the pros and cons of maintaining a closer relationship, reaching the point of friendship, with your boss or superior.

The fact that your boss is your friend means that you know his personality and way of working perfectly, which helps build big projects. You no longer work only for your boss, but for your friend, so your commitment goes beyond the work. The complicity you have created erases the limits of hierarchy (although it should never be forgotten) to work together and achieve good results.

Effort and work are more fun and relaxed And that is transmitted in the environment. Being friends with your boss has a great benefit and it is that you do not consider that every morning you have to go to a boring office to work, but to a place of meeting with your friend to grow professionally.

Beyond the opportunities you have to be able to talk to your boss, a friendship with him gives you more moments outside of working hoursand also alone, so you can convey your impressions. You can tell him about aspects that could be improved in the way he works, always with respect. Communication between employer and employee is essential and if you can give a feedback more personalized to your boss, all the better.

As we have mentioned before, you are not only working for your boss, but also for your friend, so the time and effort you put into your work is more and better. The productivity of the company will be improved due to the motivation and energy with which you work.

It's not about taking advantage of the fact that your boss is your friend, but it's clear that this factor benefits you in many ways. The fact that he or she knows you beyond the company means that know your personal and family situation. It is often difficult to explain to your boss that you have family problems or that you are suffering from an illness. If your boss knows this beforehand, there is no problem in explaining to him, for example, that you prefer to work from home today because they need your attention at home.

These are very favorable aspects, but they should not be abused. Your boss is your friend, do not forget that, never consider lying to him to obtain a favor because it will affect both your work and personal relationship.

Forging a friendship with your boss, who is not at the same hierarchical level as you, is maintaining a relationship that will never be neutralThat is to say, friendship implies intimacy, which is not compatible with the responsibilities of the boss.

Along these lines, it is It is difficult to achieve a full friendship without incidents Well, for example, your boss must keep confidential strategic information of the company secret, while confessing to you problems in his romantic life. Or, on the contrary, if it happens that your boss shares privileged information with you, he is giving you a weapon that you can use in case of work rivalry, which, in the end, harms the company.

This is one of the most common problems even without a close friendship, so when there is trust, drama arises. The phrase “trust sucks” is very true, and outdated levels of friendship can disrupt the company hierarchyYou should never forget that your boss is the boss, even if you can share your ideas without any shame.

Interruptions during conversations, excessive closeness during work hours or overly relaxed and close communication denote the confusion of roles that begins to develop. In this type of friendship, set some limits so as not to hinder either your work or his.

Whether you like it or not, you and your boss are on different lines regarding the company and that can hurt you. The development of A full friendship requires an equal relationship to grow and yours is not. The employer-employee relationship leads to a dominant-dominated situation, so if your own friend is the one who is sending you work, it means that there is a great deal of kinship between your relationship.

Dutch psychologist Geert Hofstede defines the hierarchical distance as “the degree of inequality in power and authority that a member of a group accepts and expects between his superior and himself,” the greater this distance, the less a person will object to a situation that he considers unequal. A friendship at different ranks cannot mature equitably.

Related to the previous point, the friendship between you and your boss cannot develop naturally because he is committed to the company and must be exemplary. No matter how much he is your friend, he is still the boss, yours and the rest of your colleagues, so he has to show that you are all equal and there is no favoritism.

At all times your boss must be fair and transparent in the rules for granting rewards. Don't expect that because he is your friend he will behave in a favourable way. It should not be forgotten that the feeling of injustice and, above all, the lack of recognition remains the main demotivating factor within the company.

The possible favoritism that could develop with you may finally turn into a real discrimination. That is to say, the friendship between you and your boss can exert a very dangerous pressure in both directions:

On the one hand, if your boss makes his favoritism towards you more than noticeable, it may trigger the discontent of the rest of the staff and this creates tension and deteriorates the work environment. Your colleagues may even start to ignore you because you are “the favorite.”

On the other hand, your boss, to prevent this possible episode, performs the well-known interactive injustice: the feeling of invisibility. With the trust that comes from being your friend, he blows up the situation and excludes you so that your friendship doesn't attract attention from the rest of your colleagues. Sometimes, bosses, in an attempt to be fair, grant fewer privileges or bonuses to employees who are their friends, even if they deserve them.

As we have seen, it is not only the deterioration of your friendship outside of work that is worrying, but also your relationship within it, and a friendship can inhibit decision-making capacity or discipline from your boss. A close relationship can distort judgment: Your boss is unable to communicate your professional weaknesses to you because he or she is afraid that this will create resentment and spoil the friendship.

The last drawback of being friends with your boss, but one of the most important, is that it turns trust into a manipulative instrument. It is important to know how to distinguish between work and personal favors, since mixing both can result in abuse. On the other hand, it may be the case that you develop abuses of power such as moral or sexual harassment.

These are some of the benefits and drawbacks of being friends with your boss. Whatever type of relationship you have with him, we advise you to always set some boundaries so that nothing interferes with the maturity of your relationship, whether it is professional, personal or both.