Your Boss Does Not Need To Be A Friend

#1 · April 5, 2018, 11:17 AM

To all the fresh graduates entering the labour force, remember this: your boss cannot be your friend because he/she has the power to fire you. Though both of you must get along, do not be carried away.

There is that temptation to think that a friendship will provide immunity to lack of productivity in the workplace. Managers know those who are helping in the missions and when you are not helping, even being a good “friend”, you would be at risk. “I get along with my boss” is not a strategy to job security.

Between two team members under tight budgets and tough KPIs [key performance indicators], a manager will choose the more productive member to save his/her job. At that point, friendship disappears. It is now business.

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#2 · April 5, 2018, 12:09 PM

Business and friendship aren't mutually exclusive, but there's a fine line; irrespective of how 'friendly' one appears. When the numbers aren't good, survival takes preeminence, and in such circumstance, serious people become more important than their always-smiling counterparts.

Friendship at the workplace becomes more valuable when preceded by competence, in that case, gives the employee a lot more leverage and goodwill. You have to first know how to do a good job, and then go on to make friends with the big heads up there.

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Your Boss Does Not Need To Be A Friend

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