Wise men make proverbs but fools repeat them
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A frolleague epidemic is upon us
AN OUTBREAK OF 'frolleagues' on social networking sites means possible career danger for some.
For those of you who don't know (and we're assuming there are quite a few) a 'frolleague' is a colleague who requests you as an online friend.
Previously, mixing business and pleasure was something people usually only did at drunken office Christmas parties, but thanks to social networks, these worlds are colliding.
A recent survey conducted by business focused social network LinkedIn, revealed that 47 per cent of the UK runs the risk of damaging their careers by mixing professional and personal contacts online.
This outbreak is a serious concern, as a shocking 36 per cent of Brits feel obliged to add a professional contact as a personal one, which could be absolutely life-threatening if they then spot those drunken photos from your last holiday that you've been tagged in.
Frolleagues are becoming a far more regular occurrence in our social networking circles and for those of you who keep your sordid private lives outside of work, this is a serious problem.
"There have been plenty of stories lately involving the type of behaviour that is completely inappropriate for a work environment - people need to realise that even virtual actions can have very real consequences," said Cristina Hoole of LinkedIn.
Although rather alien now Frolleagues is expected to become a far more familiar term soon enough, as due to the epidemic in Britain, the Oxford English Dictionary is considering it for inclusion in its next revision.
After realising the seriousness of this outbreak, LinkedIn decided they must come up with an antidote, it's come up with some of the things you can do to prevent an infection of frolleagues in your workplace.
Always consider what you post online, only contact a colleague on a social level if you already have this relationship with them outside of work and most importantly stand strong – don't be afraid to turn down an invitation, as you can't go back once they've seen what you get up to on weekends. µ
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I find a bigger concern to be that employment laws in some countries could allow for an employer to fire you or otherwise alter your working conditions based on what you do outside of work.
In many parts of the world, the laws are quite strict on employers basically saying you can fire an employee for being incompetent, you can fire them for not turning up, you can fire them because their position no longer exists (redundancy) but you can NOT fire them for things that have nothing to do with their work. One such place in the world is where I live - Germany.
If I choose to get drunk every weekend and waste my life (I don't, but it's a simple example), that's NO concern of my employer until it begins affecting my work directly. A real world example of mine is that I use an illegal drug occasionally (specifically LSD - infrequently, but definitely more than just "experimenting"). My boss knows this and would never do it himself, but as long as I don't do it at work, or do it before work (so that I'd still be under the influence when I arrive, or don't get enough sleep because of it) it's really no concern of his as my boss. I'm good at my job, and that's the sole thing that matters. If he were to try to fire me because of what I do in my spare time, the company would be in a LOT of trouble from the government.
For this reason, I have NO problem with having "frolleagues" - it can not possibly affect my work life. Of course, I only actually add workmates that I consider to be good friends on social networking sites, but that's more because I only add good friends regardless of whether they're work colleagues or not.
First of all, I was dragged into LinkedIn kicking and screaming, and only signed up because my entire company has been borgified by this mind-control scheme.
So I have signed up to it to play nice with the colleagues, but I never send out invitations. Heck, the only times I go to the site is to validate the arrival of a new colleague that caught the virus.
Second, I do not feel any urge to post my life online. I do not think that what I do is important enough to interest anyone else, and I do not need to generate any virtual justification for it either.
It's my life. As long as I'm happy with it I don't really care what anyone else thinks about it.
real friends and work friends, if the sites support this.

And be smart about what you put online, and try not to get carried away when posting. Easier said than done!
When you "befriend" an OED editor, you're a fridiot.