Voices
workers.” Segmentors who strive
to self-express have to explain to
colleagues why they won’t accept
their friend requests on Facebook,
and sometimes leave them wondering what’s being hidden in that
private world.
The researchers make a compelling case that keeping an eye on
our image usually earns us greater
respect and liking. By segmenting what we share with different
audiences, the researchers write,
we create online relationships that
“mirror the tailored nature of offline relationships.” The challenge
is that it involves a lot more work.
Few people have the time and energy to create and maintain separate lists of contacts for sharing
different types of information, and
evolve these lists as our relationships change. And as hard as we try,
sometimes it’s out of our control
when friends cross our boundaries.
Personally, as more of an integrator, I have a decent number of
professional contacts in my Facebook network. My wife is a segmentor — to the point that she
cringes at the mere mention of her
existence in social media, and will
probably even object to this one.
In our experience, segmentation
is the dominant preference in re-
ADAM
GRANT
HUFFINGTON
09.22.13
lationships: blurring boundaries
is far more bothersome to a segmentor than building fences is to
an integrator. (In fact, Rothbard
and her colleagues conducted a
study showing that segmentors
are less satisfied and committed
when their employers offer onsite
childcare. Even when it doesn’t af-
Millennials seem to care
more about self-expression
than social approval.”
fect them directly, the mere presence of other people’s family lives
in their workplaces punches holes
in their mental fences.)
Since many people are segmentors, being liked and respected
probably requires some selectivity about what we share and with
whom we share it. And there’s
a way to be selective without
spending inordinate amount of
time and energy managing different networks and lists: it’s
called conversation. So I’d like to
propose a rule: when in
doubt, share it offline.
Adam Grant is a tenured professor
at The Wharton School.