I'm 24 years old and in all the jobs I have had, i never try to get to close with the boss/manager. It just feels weird hanging out and going out to clubs with someone who has authority over you and someone can fire you on the spot.
shareI worked at a place where we went out quite often, and the boss joined us. Everyone worked very hard, and I think the boss thought we would treat ourselves by going out for a beer, but there was never talk of any clubbing. It stopped at a couple of beers, and that was it.
But when it comes to Brandon, he had no other friends than his work mates. It was work – women – work – porn – prostitutes and work. And I think that by more or less wing-manning David, his boss, was a prime strategy for not being afraid, or threatened with losing his job because of his, mildly said, odd behaviour. As you know, they found porn on his computer and David wasn't stupid, I mean, 1+1=2. He knew it was Brandon's. Better safe than sorry, and David wasn't only his boss, but one of his few friends. Which is sad really.
But from what I know, there're significant differences in other cultures. I have a friend (I'm a Swede) who worked in Tokyo for over a year. This was late 90's and she told me that, not only was the work so demanding and stressful, but it was more or less a part of your duty, that after work to go out with the boss to drink alcohol, and it was considered rude to leave before the boss did. It always ended with that the boss became so drunk that they had to carry him to a waiting taxi. And as with many Asians, they lack some kind of enzyme, so the boss became drunk on almost nothing. Which was the only good thing, haha.
So the custom vary, depending on where you're located in the world. But I agree with you, don't bring your boss, at least not when partying :)
Thanks for the reply. Where I work, my boss is really cool with me. He gives me business advice and life lessons and among others. He even goes out of his way of buying me lunch sometimes. My issue is that i try to not get too close(even though we are) because if something bad happens at the job, the whole thing is gonna unravel and it's going to lead us being on thin ice.
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You're welcomed :) Your boss seems to be a really nice person. Now I don't know if you're female or male. I only say this because there's a tendency of being treated differently if the boss is male. Still more advantages work-wise, if you're male, unfortunately.
But if your issue is about getting too close, either take some kind of stance for yourself, trust your gut feeling, or talk to him about it. Being close does definitely not mean that you're suppose to go clubbing with your boss, I simply think that's a bad idea. And from I get, that is what you think too. It's a slippery slope when alcohol is involved, and that doesn't make you closer, that's for sure.
But don't be afraid of speaking up, if you consider something is wrong. If he's this nice manager which he seems to be, he'll understand. It all comes down to respect. You know, we spend at last a third or more of our lives at work, so I truly think it's not more than fair that we'll be respected. Respect for each other's position, but most importantly, respect for the person you really are. Just don't be afraid that something will go wrong, trust your gut feeling, of what feels right or wrong. I'm sure you'll doing just fine :)
Just wanted to express my admiration of you both and your civilized conversation. Today's world lacks people like you gravely and sometimes a few read sentences of an online conversation make our day better. You are both good people.
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