Dear Fairygodmentor: Should I Follow My Coworkers On Social Media?

Reader’s Question:

Hey There, FairyGodMentor,

What are your thoughts on following coworkers on social media?

Regards,

Am I Creepy or Cool

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dear Creepy or Cool,

First off, I would assume that your intentions are well-meaning to connect with your coworkers on social media, right?  So, let’s stop playing TLC’s “Creep” as the soundtrack in your head and nix the “creepy” moniker, OK?

I have more questions.

What’s your company’s culture? You may work in a place with strict policies against connecting with coworkers on social media. You could work in a place where connecting with coworkers outside of work is encouraged.  Do a bit of research before diving into virtually connecting with your coworkers.

How’s your current relationship with the coworkers you want to connect with? If you’re already friendly with your coworker and they’ve given you a green light to connect online, go for it.

Of course you want to respect your coworker’s privacy. Especially if their profiles are marked private—understand that you have been invited into this person’s private life. It’s understood that you wouldn’t use what’s shared on this person’s profile against them.

What’s your role? Think about your role at the organization that you work for. If you you’re a team leader, you may want to think twice about connecting with your direct reports on social media.  They may feel they have to edit or censor what they’re posting. OR they can simply change their profile viewing settings for specific people they work with to have a better sense of privacy. I remember blocking my executive level leaders on my team from seeing everything I posted because I wanted them to have access to some of my life, but not ALL of it.

Finally, you want to be mindful about sharing other’s content. Always ask permission before posting something that involves another coworker. If you’re sharing something controversial or anything that could create tension at work…think before posting. Remember this, when somebody’s business comes into the organization and that post disrupts up productivity- it becomes the organization’s business.

Again, it’s all about intention. If you want to stay connected outside of work, and keep in touch—go for it. It goes into creepy territory when your intentions aren’t on the up and up, you’re straight up nosey, or you have bad intentions.

You got this!

Sincerely,

Your Fairygodmentor®

Joyel Crawford is an award-winning career and leadership development professional and the founder of Crawford Leadership Strategies , a consultancy that develops empowered, results-driven leaders through engaging leadership development coaching, training, and facilitation.

Do you have a question about handling a micromanager? Are you having difficulty navigating spaces because of your hair? Is work stressing you out? Do you need support coaching poor performance, or are you wondering how to negotiate and get the job offer you desire effectively? Do you have any questions about career and leadership development?

Ask Your FairyGodMentor® here .

RELATED CONTENT: Ask Your FairyGodMentor®: How To Lead Your Team During Layoffs And Prevent Stress