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Facebook Etiquette in the Midst of Layoffs

by Peter Mychalcewycz on January 29, 2009 at 09:01 AM

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The plight of the unemployed is front page news in this country, and with good reason. Millions of people have lost their jobs and and are now facing a very uncertain future. What hasn't been discussed (at least not by us) are the people doing the firing. Laying off an employee cannot be easy in the first place (unless the person doing it is a sociopath/sadist). And with the line between friend/co-worker/subordinate becoming increasingly blurred by social networking sites like Facebook, the task of severing ties has been transformed into a painful, multimedia process.

If you have to fire someone and don't know how to handle your online relationship with them before and after delivering the bad news, click through to read some tips courtesy of Amy Stojsaviljevic and LemonDrop.com.

Suggest New Friends
If it's a company-mandated layoff, not a firing due to incompetence, consider using Facebook as a tool to assist the soon-to-be-unemployed with networking. You thought highly enough of the people to hire them (and make them Facebook friends) in the first place, so you might as well open up your contact list to help them out.

Make Yourself Private
If you do have to fire them, you may want to consider first downgrading their Facebook status to only see your limited profile. That's a good rule of thumb for co-workers in the first place, especially if you're prone to posting about your way-too-happy hours off the clock. This can be less shocking than booting them from your friends list entirely -- that move can raise suspicion and create chaos at a time when you're likely trying to manage panic.

Give 'Em Two Weeks
If you just can't bear to keep them on your friends list, at least wait a respectable period after they've left the company and your social circle to axe them. But always think twice before inflicting this minor insult. You never know who will become a valuable contact in the future.

These tips won't make firing a person easier for you but it may just soften the blow for them. Anyways, cheer up frowny face, at least you still have a job. [From: LemonDrop.com]


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Tags: advice, etiquette, facebook, lemondrop, social networking sites, SocialNetworkingSites, tech etiquette, TechEtiquette, tips, unemployment, workplace

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