When the lines between “work friends” and “real friends” blur, you run the risk of creating awkward workplace situations or even serious obstacles to getting your work done. But if you’re friends with your coworkers on social media, or have been video chatting with them constantly for the past year, you probably know a lot more about your coworkers than you would in a traditional “business-professional” relationship. On the one hand, my boss can see every tweet I make. On the other, I can see their kids running across the screen asking for a snack.

Every relationship needs boundaries. Here’s how to draw the line between coworkers and friends so everyone feels as comfortable as possible at work.

We've previously discussed how to set different types of personal boundaries , which largely comes down to knowing yourself and effectively articulating what you need. If you're having trouble imagining what setting boundaries looks like in a conversation, consider this exercise from Andrea Brandt Ph.D. in Psychology Today:

Take a piece of paper and draw three vertical lines to form four columns. Label the first column "Significant Other," the second "Family," the third "Friends," and the fourth "Acquaintances/Strangers." Now, write down the topics that you feel uncomfortable discussing with people in these four categories. For example, you might put "sex life" under things you're not comfortable talking about with family and strangers, or "childhood trauma" under all four categories.