This is What Happens When Your Boss Friends You

Aside from your middle-aged relatives you don't like all that much, your boss is probably the last person you'd want to get a Facebook friend request from. Elite Daily's video, "This is What Happens When Your Boss Friend Requests You on Facebook" perfectly captures the dilemma we all face when somebody from work tries to be our friend—on social media, that is. After all, if you deny your boss, she or he is probably going to notice, and that could make things awkward around the office. Then again, if you accept them, you're potentially giving your boss access to a bunch of information you wanted to keep private (like the real reason you took off work the day after Cinco de Mayo). So, what do you do?

When somebody adds me on Facebook that I don't really want to friend, but I don't want to seem like a jerk by denying, either, my first line of defense is to wait. I just let the request sit there for an indeterminate amount of time. I do this for two reasons: one, it give me time to think so I don't make any rash decisions. Two, if you wait long enough, the requester will probably forget that they added you in the first place, so if you do reject them they might not even notice it. Then, if I do grant them my Facebook friendship, I make sure to adjust my privacy settings so that basically the only thing that my boss can see is my profile picture and cover photo, and nothing else. No mobile uploads, no status updates, nothing. For all she knows, I don't even use Facebook.

The video nails the emotional phases we all go through when our boss tries to add us on social media. Such as:

1. Debating

What do I do? Do I just let it sit there? Do I add her? Is she going to awkwardly mention that she sent me a request??

2. Anxiety

Ughhh, I have to do something! But what? Why is this happening?!

3. Acceptance

Okay, I did it. It's done.

4. The Aftermath

You'll have to watch the full video for the complete aftermath, which you can do below.

If this isn't proof that you should really change your privacy settings, then I don't know what is.

Images: Elite Daily / Youtube