Reference no: EM133161118
Just because we are hired into our organizations in official titles with work-related roles that bring us into continual exchange with others, this does not mean that we turn off our emotional sides--our needs for connection, our assessment of others as people who we may like or dislike, trust or distrust, feel attracted to or are turned of by, etc. We do not simply flip off the switch of our emotional reactions to others at work. Indeed, many people form lifelong friendships in the workplace, leading to great professional and personal satisfaction. And people do meet love partners in the workplace and manage to navigate such relationships alongside workplace ones.
These bonds can and do develop.
Yet, there are risks and tensions to be conscious of and manage when personal connections and work roles conflict. It is common, in fact, for organizations to prohibit romantic relationships--particularly among employees at different ranks. How much we let our hair down at work, form close relationships with others while complying with organizational rules and preserving professional ethics is the crux of the human relations story we are covering this week.
Watch the video below--keeping in mind the central concept of interpersonal boundaries--that is, ways that we monitor our communications and behavior at work to preserve the often unspoken line between what is an acceptable level of closeness and disclosure between employees and what behaviors or conversations may go too far.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8dQFBxdURU
https://textbooks.whatcom.edu/cmst210/chapter/7-5/
Reading: https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/employee-relations/pages/harnessing-the-potential-of-workplace-friendships.aspx
- Define the concept of "interpersonal boundaries" and explain how it applies to the exchanges in the video.
- In what ways were the actors in this exchange communicating that a boundary had been crossed? (Keep in mind that there was more than one exchange in this video.)
- In your view, who, if anyone, in this scenario has a personal friendship in addition to a work relationship?
- What do you believe this scenario teaches us about workplace friendships, authenticity in communication, emotional connections, and issues of self-disclosure and privacy in work relationships?