navigating friendship in the workplace as an hr pro

Navigating Friendship In the Workplace As an HR Pro

Scroll down to read more!

Navigating Friendship In the Workplace As an HR Pro

Scroll down to read more!
navigating friendship in the workplace as an hr pro

Table of Contents

Yikes, I’m sure that title scared a few HR Pros.

Friendship is an essential part of life. Some people don’t have a family, but they do have friends. Friendship in the workplace has always been a delicate subject. When we allow people to cross that barrier we’ve created in all of those stacks of paperwork, we panic.

Navigating Friendship In the Workplace As an HR Pro

 

Is it possible to be a manager and still have coworkers that you’re friends with? I believe so. As a team member at a previous job, I had two really good work relationships that grew into great friendships that continue even to this day. When I became a manager, we did have difficult days. They had to understand that it was now my job to manage them and I had to understand that everything I knew, they didn’t need to know too. But we got through it.

Is it possible to be a part of the HR Department and still have friendships within your organization? I’m not sure. Being a manager and having friends is hard enough. Adding the role of HR… that seems even more challenging. For one thing, there are some things in your personal life that even your HR professional does not want to find out about. I’m sure there a lot of HR pros who have genuine friendships with coworkers, someone on their “level,” but what about friendships with the frontline team members, can this be successful?

The employees who work hard at trusting the HR department because of the secrets we keep are the toughest to get through to. They might not look at us the same if we’re going out with their coworkers. And when you’re a new HR professional, gaining team members’ trust is the first step to having them accept you, your solutions, your ethics, and your responses to problems in the company. Then there are conflict of interest situations. Are you willing to excuse yourself from situations that won’t be best for you to witness? Are your friends willing to accept your disciplining them?

Quality friendships require a lot of give and take from both sides, and as an HR Professional, there isn’t a lot of giving when it comes to policies and procedures of your organization, just because someone is a friend. Friendships are a major part of life, but when it comes to work friendships, it is important that we consider the less pleasant angles.

Did you like this post? Share it!

A Word From Our Sponsors

Ads help make Workology resources free for everyone. We respect your privacy. To see our Privacy Policy click here.

Recommended Posts

27 Companies Who Hire Adults With Autism

List of companies who hire and employ adults who are neurodiverse. ...
Workology’s Learning Portal Gets a Major Upgrade

Workology’s Learning Portal Gets a Major Upgrade

After months of building and testing, our new learning portal is ready! Ace the HR Exam students now have access to more resources than...
SPHRi vs GPHR: Choosing the Right HR Certification for You

SPHRi vs GPHR: Choosing the Right HR Certification for You

Picture this: you’re at a crossroads in your human resources career, standing between two significant certifications – the SPHRi and GPHR. Which way do...

The Costs of Form I-9 Software

In the intricate landscape of U.S. employment eligibility verification, businesses face the challenge of remaining vigilant and compliant. As their workforce expands, the manual...

Episode 415: Registered Apprenticeship Programs in the Clean Energy Sector With Dr. Janell Hills

In this episode, we interview Dr. Janell Hills from IREC about developing registered apprenticeship programs in the clean energy sector....

Checkout Our Products

Ads help make Workology resources free for everyone. We respect your privacy. To see our Privacy Policy click here.

More From Workology

Episode 415: Registered Apprenticeship Programs in the Clean Energy Sector With Dr. Janell Hills

In this episode, we interview Dr. Janell Hills from IREC about developing registered apprenticeship programs in the clean energy sector.

27 Companies Who Hire Adults With Autism

List of companies who hire and employ adults who are neurodiverse.

The Costs of Form I-9 Software

Click on read more to open this post on our blog.
SPHRi vs GPHR: Choosing the Right HR Certification for You

SPHRi vs GPHR: Choosing the Right HR Certification for You

Click on read more to open this post on our blog.