Climbing the Ladder
When your friend becomes your boss—
How to best treat the situation
When you spend 40 or more hours a week at work, developing close friendships with your co-workers is unavoidable. Friendships like these are beneficial because they can make for great company during lunch or a sympathetic ear if you need to vent about the boss. But what if suddenly one of these close friends becomes the boss?
The first thing to remember is not to get jealous. Even if you feel overlooked for the same position, this promotion is probably going to mean some new stress for your friend and your jealousy will only make that worse. Even if you feel you're not jealous, you might be sending subtle signals. Remember, friends should be happy for each other’s accomplishments.
Allow time for adjustment. Your friend is obviously going through some major changes and has a whole new set of responsibilities. If you take lunches or breaks together, be more flexible. It's likely that after a short transition period things will work themselves out.
Don't let your friend's promotion be the elephant in the room. Everything is going to be different and pretending that it's not could be awkward. Take some time to chat casually about the changes in your social and professional lives. Be open and honest about your feelings.
Some people may assume that because you're friends with the boss you get extra perks, so you should be careful not to prove them right. Don't take advantage of friends in high places. It could not only ruin the friendship between you and your boss, but it will also strain the relationship between you and your co-workers.
Keep your social life and work life separate! Chatting during a meeting about what you and the boss did over the weekend is very unprofessional and leaves a bad impression on the people around you. You shouldn't talk about work in your social life either. Your time off should give you a chance to maintain the friendship part of your relationship.
While this may feel like an awkward situation, not every scenario has to have a bad ending.
You might even discover that the same person you used to vent to about your job is now in a position to change things for the better!
Has this happened to you? Tell us your story!