It is important that you are able to distinguish between working relationships and personal relationships.
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Working relationships are the professional relationships that you have with colleagues, clients and other professionals whilst you are in a work environment. Other specifications of a working relationship include:
- It is bound by policies, procedures and agreed ways of working
- It is unequal – you will know more personal details about the clients you support than they do about you
- It is usually paid for (excepting voluntary work)
- It has constraints of time and location (relationship exists only when on shift and in a working environment)
Personal relationships are the relationships that you have with your friends and family and are not bound by any formal rules or regulations. Aspects of a personal relationship include:
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- It can be intimate (touching, hugging, kissing, sex etc.)
- It is mutual – both individuals choose the nature and boundaries of the relationship
- It can occur at any place at any time (outside of working hours)
- Socialising together is permitted
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