We had a management meeting a few months back where the executive director told all of us, “Only befriend those who are in the same level field as you.” We are a group home setting so we have the DSPs, then the management team (supervisors- this includes me), and then the leadership team. She later went on to explain that if we are in management team we are only allowed to befriend other management and hang with them outside of work, and that goes for the rest of the work categories as well. Well most of us have worked our way up so we have friends who are “below” us. They didn’t like us being friends because we talked and gave them all in the information we possibly could and hung out with them outside of work which was looked down upon. So if we are only supposed to be friends with those in our category that’s a very small pool and it’s very lonely. I just couldn’t believe it when our executive director told us that.
To add- to a certain extent I get it. They just don’t want staff to be able to get away with anything and have friends higher up who will brush things aside. But we are a small company and treat everybody the same. If you fuck up im going to do the same thing to a friend vs a stranger.