Managers Don’t Want to Be “Friends”

More than six in 10 senior managers surveyed by OfficeTeam said they are uncomfortable being friended on Facebook by their bosses (68%) or the employees they supervise (62%). This is up from 47% and 48% of respondents, respectively, in a similar survey conducted in 2009.

In addition, nearly half (49%) of those recently polled prefer not to connect with co-workers on Facebook, compared to 41% in 2009. Forty-six percent said they are “not comfortable at all” with being friended by their bosses, and one-third indicated they are “not comfortable at all” with being friended by their co-workers.

However, 20% feel “somewhat comfortable” and 11% feel “very comfortable” being friended by their bosses, and 40% feel “somewhat comfortable” and 10% feel “very comfortable” being friended by their co-workers.

The survey also found 62% of managers are not comfortable being friended by people they manage, 74% prefer not to be friended by clients, and 78% are uncomfortable being friended by vendors.

The survey developed by OfficeTeam and conducted by an independent research firm is based on telephone interviews with more than 1,000 senior managers at companies with 20 or more employees.