Winning Entry

Top 5 reasons why I would ALWAYS friend my boss and colleagues:

1. The Facebook Poke is a good way to remind my boss to clear my paper.
2. Facebook is a good way to show to my boss that my weekends are spent volunteering for charity and other activities. (Raizan has invited you to join the event “10,000 hrs of cleaning the old folks home”)
3. I now know 20 things about my neighbour that I didn’t know before.
4. How else can I find out if that cute lady from Finance on the 8th floor is single or attached?
5. How else can I check if my colleague is really sick or having a hangover from the wild night spent partying? (Love that photo tag function)

Congratulations to Mr Raizan Abdul Razak who wins a $100 dining voucher from Carousel at Royal Plaza on Scotts. Now there’s a good reason to bring the “cute lady from Finance” out for a meal!

Of Course!

That’s a big YES! Almost everyone in my division is on Facebook, and we are Friends with each other, including our Director. We work independently and it’s difficult to catch up with each other socially. Facebook allows us to share our vibes, gossips, and thoughts and also share photos of office social events through private photo albums.
Damien Wang, NLB

Facebook and Twitter can help co-workers understand each other on a deeper level and provide a platform to
“scream” for help when flooded by work which can trigger other co-workers to offer help.
Dickson Teo Kian Yong, NAC

If one wants privacy, keep a personal journal. Facebook is a good tool for bosses to get to know their staff better through communication on a non-formal platform, which time or space in the professional world may not
always allow.
Beverly Snodgrass, MCYS

I will and I have. Facebook offers my colleagues and bosses a glimpse into my private life and more importantly, happy pictures of my kids posted on Facebook are to remind all that I need to have work life balance!
Connie Siew, MOH

Yes, it can help to strengthen the bond by getting to know more about them. We can keep a lookout for their ‘Status updates’ and respond by leaving a comment on their profile. Even the simplest comment such as ‘Nice picture!’ can bring a smile to their faces and eventually make their day worthwhile.
Nurwidayu Binte Rashid, SPF

Of course! Why shouldn't I? It's good to show the bosses and colleagues what influential network I have, so that they will cherish me more! They will be amazed at my level of popularity with more than 500 friends and constantly adding to the list. They will find their photos appearing on my Facebook, showing their best moments and shared moments. When there's some arguments, we can challenge each other in the mini-games and fight it out, without bloodshed, of course! So, bosses and colleagues are all welcome abroad my facebook!
Pang Biao Bin, Dazhong Primary School

Dear Sir / Mdm.
Most of my colleagues and I would like to 'Friend' our PA colleagues or bosses on Facebook, but we are not able to do so, cos it is always denied by the system. Could you enlighten us how to go about this....
Thanks a lot.
Best regards,
Tan Bin Choo, People’s Association

By being a friend, a boss could understand his subordinate's difficulties, hardships, and successes or just about anything that he/she might not reveal openly. This is also a way to tap talents. It might just also be a good platform to gauge whether a person would be more inclined with a certain kind of duties. For example, if one loves riding and driving, the "friend-boss" would be able to offer him/her a transfer to Traffic Police. If he/she is inclined to music, the SPF Band perhaps?
Norsham bin Mohd Tahir, SPF

Yes, it would be interesting to see the “other side of them” and vice versa.. rather than having a purely work based relationship, if I can comment on my bosses status and he can comment on mine, we would have a chance to experience the colleague as a friend, which would break tensions and enhance the working relationship. Provided we respect one another’s privacy and not publicise it to the entire office?
Claudia Samuel, CSC

I guess it depends on who and what is the purpose of that individual- for tracking or networking. Humans try to fulfill their different roles at a different environment, they might have their hobbies and lifestyles that they did not seem to be fitted into at work. Would that affect how the bosses perceived the employee and how would it affect efficiency and probably more? Different values and principles, different backgrounds, are you ready to take it on? Anyway, bosses, get ready for this century. Be open, sincere and let's network.
Jennifer, MOE

By adding colleagues and our bosses on Facebook, we’ll be able to come to the realisation that we’re more than just our titles and job scopes at work and we’ll create a greater sense of comfort among each other.
Stephanie Martin, MinLaw

This may not be a bad thing because bosses will better understand that their subordinates are just normal human beings who lead normal lives. Hopefully this will raise awareness for bosses to be more empathetic towards us family men and encourage a healthier work-life balance. Not to mention that if my spouse ever wants to complain about me spending too much time at work, she can always do so on FB... *winks*
Rizal Bin Abdul Rahman, SPF

Many of my colleagues at school have added their students to their Facebook accounts. I have a separate Facebook account for my students. I don’t add my colleagues because I don’t want my students to gain access to my private accounts. All my students who have added me, the few hundreds of them, are all aware that I have private and 'public' accounts. At the rate I am going, I think I may have to set up a fan page pretty soon.
Adeline Wee, MOE

Yes, But...

Yes, I would add my boss if asked. For the next two weeks, if I have anything to share on Facebook, I will make sure I exclude my boss. Two weeks later, I will surreptitiously remove my boss as a friend. Boss will be none the wiser, as he/she would have added so many people, he/she wouldn’t notice one friend less.
Angeline Ng, MOE

No Way...

Some of my colleagues may be “sensitive” when bosses are part of the community. This will hamper free expression and take the fun out of social networking. I prefer to keep interactions on FB simple and sincere.
Jane Chiew, IDA

I’m friends with my bosses in the office but I feel that I still need to differentiate between work and friendship. I am already ‘tracked’ in office, I don’t want to be tracked in cyberspace as well.
Janet Lee, CPFB

I’d rather keep office politics or gossip to my close friends, as you won’t know one day, bosses might come across your FB, knowing what you said, and give you HELL in office. Good luck to you if you do “Friend” them! ;P
Alvin Chong, Attorney-General’s Chambers

We face our colleagues and bosses more than 8 hours a day and there are bound to be issues at work which you are not happy about and Facebook is a good platform to share your happiness or woes at work with your friends. Strictly a no-no.
Finn Tay, JTC

Someone once said - "My boss added me on Facebook.... it’s the end of the world.... My life just ended".
Sharon Cheng, SYOGOC

Not if I can help it. It'll be horrendous especially if you have unglamorous photos of yourself posted up by your other friends. And your bosses will be able to keep tabs on when you're skiving. I say work and private life must be kept separate.
Grace Goh, Attorney-General's Chambers

A definite NO. There's a chinese saying "公私分明“ meaning to say work matters should not jumble up with personal life.
Jessica Lau, Singapore Land Authority

I won’t add my boss as a “friend” on Facebook. It’s just awkward for him to be looking at photos from my private life!! We should just maintain that distance with the bosses!
Penelope Chin, MOH

Editor: Wow, thanks for the overwhelming response! About 250 of you replied with a majority (71.7%) willing to ‘friend’ colleagues but not bosses! We’re sorry we couldn’t print everyone’s replies but there’re more
published letters online so do check out www.challenge.gov.sg.

Will you respond to your boss’s SMS or phone calls after office hours? Why?
Tell us at: psd_challenge@psd.gov.sg

The best entry will win an attractive prize worth up to $100! All other published entries will win shopping vouchers worth $30 each. Please include your name, email address, agency and contact number. All entries should reach us by September 27, 2010.