Boss Warns Employees That They Are Not At Work To 'Make Friends' & That Their Jobs Are Not 'Meant To Be Fun'
Employees were at risk of facing punishment for violating their boss's new rule of having non-work-related discussions while on the clock.
Reddit & CoWomen/Pexels At work, building friendly connections with your coworkers is to be expected, however, one boss is severely against such a thing happening in their workplace.
Posting to Reddit's "r/antiwork" subreddit — an online forum where users can share their job/work-related struggles — a Reddit user posted a photo of a memo made by a boss of an unnamed company, who informed their employees that work is a strictly professional place.
Employees were told they are not allowed to 'make friends' and keep 'non-work discussions' to a minimum.
In the memo posted to Reddit, the boss informed their employees that at work, no one is allowed to engage in friendly conversations, especially if they have nothing to do with work.
"Attention employees . . . work is not meant to be fun," the note stated. "This is your job. Do not dedicate work time to discussion of non-work topics. Do not facilitate friendships during work hours. Exchange phone numbers and/or hang out after work is complete."
On top of that, the unnamed boss included his phone number at the bottom of the memo and urged employees to contact him if they witness any of their coworkers in violation of the implemented rule.
"Reach me at... if a coworker is having non-work discussions on company time," the memo concluded, along with a photo of a Minion from the film "Despicable Me," with the phrase, "Work is not your daycare... truth," printed across it.
In the comments section, Reddit users were unimpressed by the boss's new rule, and many joked about the different responses employees could tell their boss about their new workplace conversation ban.
'Reply [to] them with: Don't put Minion on this poster, you're having too much fun making the poster and we're not having it," one Reddit user wrote, while another user added, "Whichever company posted that sign must be a horrible company to work for. Wonder how their revolving door is doing."
Other users inquired how the boss would be able to police this new policy and catch employees having friendly conversations with each other. "That's hilarious. Good luck enforcing that. I think my boss initiates non-work-related conversations more than anyone in the office," a third user shared.
"At my workplace, when we’re having more fun we work harder and enjoy being alive," a fourth user pointed out.
While having close friends at work is frowned upon by experts, it's still encouraged to have friendly bonds with your coworkers.
In an interview with CNN, Amy Cooper Hakim, an industrial-organizational psychology practitioner, and workplace expert, explained that while work colleagues didn't need to be "best buds," it still helped if they formed a cordial relationship.
"You want to be kind, professional, and nice. But we don’t need to tell every person at work our deep dark secrets, and long-term goals and dreams," Hakim told the news outlet.
A 2022 report from Gallup showed that people who have a friend at work are more engaged than those who do not. They were also more likely to innovate and share ideas, get more work done in less time, and report having more fun.
While making and having friends at work can be a debatable topic, the good news is you don't need to be friends with your coworkers in order to be a good colleague and someone people want to work with.
Nia Tipton is a Brooklyn-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.