’32 percent of Dutch people prefer to avoid colleagues online’

32 percent of Dutch people prefer not to add colleagues as friends on social media, according to a new survey. On the other hand, people also adjust their behavior online because colleagues are watching. Sometimes they decide not to post that one message or to delete a message.

Colleagues on social media

A large proportion of Dutch people like to keep work and private life separate, including on social media. This is according to a new study by PanelWizard commissioned by VPNdiensten.nl among 1,186 respondents. The results of a series of statements show that 32 percent prefer not to have colleagues on social media and 39 percent already ignore friend requests.

If we look at the gender and age figures of the respondents, the research shows that younger women in particular prefer to avoid colleagues. In addition, it is also striking that many male over-60s also like to shield themselves online from colleagues.

Annoyances and Comments

Still, it goes beyond just the desire to avoid coworkers on social media. Anyone who has colleagues as an online friend is also regularly annoyed by messages. That is the case for 36 percent of the respondents who follow colleagues on Facebook, LinkedIn or Instagram. 1 in 10 of the respondents has already spoken to a colleague about his behavior on social media. In addition, 8 percent indicate that they have already deleted a message as a result of comments from colleagues.

The research also shows that many people who have colleagues as friends online change their behaviour. 30 percent of the participants of the survey sometimes decide not to post a certain message because colleagues are watching. It is mainly women (36%) who are most concerned about the opinion of colleagues, even more so than men (27%).

Do you have your colleagues on social media and that also changes your behavior online. Maybe you sometimes get annoyed by messages from colleagues or you have ever deleted a message when a colleague spoke to you. Let us know in the comments at the bottom of this article.