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Guidelines to Help Busineses Manage Friendships at Work

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Donna Flagg
(Visit Donna's Website) Donna Flagg spent 15 years in sales, management and training before becoming a consultant specializing in organizational development and its relationship to business results. Her management career began in sales at CHANEL, and before branching out on her own to launch Krys alis, she spearheaded a new training function within the Investment Banking Division at Goldman Sachs. After earning a BA from Rutgers University and gaining experience on the front lines of Corporate America, Donna went on to attend New York University’s Graduate School of Education where she obtained a Masters Degree in Organizational Development and Human Resource Management, and a post graduate degree in Business Education. She has also been a visiting instructor and speaker at New York University through Delta Pi Epsilon. In addition, she speaks at various conferences including those conducted by The Business Leadership Network and The Conference Board. Donna is currently a blogger on ExpertBusinessSource.com and frequently quoted in the press for her workplace expertise. She has also been a guest on The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch, Life’s Work with Lisa Belkin and The Joan Hamburg Show.  Her first book on workplace communications titled, Su rviving Dreaded Conversations comes out this fall.

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Guidelines to Help Busineses Manage Friendships at Work

I never really understood the debate over why friendships at work were considered a bad thing and why companies have historically discouraged personal relationships as if they somehow clash with professional ones. In my career, since day one, if I haven’t been working for or with friends, I’ve had friends working for me. There have never been any problems. In fact they are the strongest relationships and best work experiences I’ve had - by far.
Recently, the pendulum has begun to swing away from the taboo notion that friendships at work threaten business results and toward what value may be inherent to having friendships in the workplace. Employers are rethinking old mandates that expected employees to keep their personal lives "outside."

But either way, whether you are for or against employee chumminess on the job, its success or failure will undoubtedly depend on the individuals’ maturity, professionalism and ability to manage relationships both at work and at play. Here are a few things you can communicate with employees that will help keep a good thing like friendship from going bad into something destructive, distracting and not good for your business. They will be clear and workplace relationships will remain on their appropriate and respective tracks.

1 Never betray a confidence, unless there are disclosure policies that need to be cited. You won’t be trusted by your friends or anyone else.
2 Talk openly about performance. Call a spade a spade and don’t take feedback personally.
3 Talk openly about feelings. Share your perspective so that you are understood as accurately as is possible.
4 Don’t gossip about other people. Friends, or not, people will think you gossip about them too.
5 Keep work separate from play. Know where the boundary lines should be drawn.
6 Be clear about obligations and fulfill them on both fronts. Letting people down either personally or professionally will not only hurt your relationships, but it will ding your reputation too.





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