When it comes to work, there is no friendship

Many elderly people, speaking from their experience, believe that it is best not to work for friend or someone we know or are close to. I think there is some truth in what they believe and say.

In fact, when it comes to work, it is always good to keep the working relationship formal and at arm's length because when it gets too close, it might create a conflict of interest and problems will start to surface. It will eventually make it hard for both parties to work together, in some cases, the friendship even ceases as a result of that soured working relationship.

The reason is that when working relationship gets too close, it is usually hard for both parties to differentiate between friendship and work. I remember one of my superiors always said, "When it comes to work, there is no friendship." When I just started work, I thought he was so unfriendly and arrogant. But now, I think he was right.

When friendship is being brought into work, usually the work performance and results might be compromised. And when something goes wrong, usually the superior will find it hard to reprimand or tell the subordinate off.