It can be difficult when you have a group of co-workers that you’re friends with. Then, when you’re promoted to manager, they stop inviting you to lunches, after hours drinks and other social events. But as one of the leading staffing agencies in Houston, TX, Murray Resources knows it’s not you; it’s your new job. And as a manager, you shouldn’t be aiming to be friends with your staff. Why? Here are a few good reasons:

You’ll lose some credibility.

You need your staff to take you seriously. But when you’re friends with them, they won’t. For instance, rather than implementing an idea of yours they don’t like, they’ll just roll their eyes at you.

You’ll favor those you’re friends with.

It’s only normal to develop friendships with those you like and like to be around the most. But that’s not going to include every member of your staff. And those left out will view you as favoring the people you’re friends with. And, it’s more than likely you will end up favoring your friends / employees even if you have every intention not to. This could especially become an issue when you’re doling out promotions or raises. Without meaning to, you could offer better opportunities to those you’re friends with.

You might say something you shouldn’t.

When you’re the manager, you have a lot of difficult and sometimes painful decisions to make. And it can be a lonely job. As a result, it might be tempting to share some of these details with one of your friends / employees. But doing so could land you in trouble, especially if you’re talking about issues with other employees.

You’ll have a harder time dealing with performance issues.

It’s hard to tell a friend that their work isn’t up to par, or worse, fire them. If it was another staff member you weren’t friends with, you might not have any issues replacing them. But if they’re your friend, it will be much harder to do.

All that said, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be warm and friendly with your staff. But you should avoid stepping into “best friend” territory and sharing too much personal information with any one staff member.

You might think being friends with your employees makes your job easier; but in the long run, you’re asking for trouble. There are simply too many complications that can arise when you get too close to your staff.

Do you need help staffing your team? If you do, call the experts at Murray Resources. As one of the leading staffing agencies in Houston, TX, organizations all over the city rely on our expertise to source and retain top talent for hard-to-fill, key positions across a broad range of business disciplines. Contact us today to find out more.