My friend has a professional caregiver who has been with her along time. My friend really likes her caregiver and appreciates everything about her caregiver, but she likes being friends with her as well. My friend wanted to know, can a caregiver and clients be friends? My friend doesn’t want to be confused because there is time to be professional and there is time to be friends. Bottom line, can they be friends? Also there are no inappropriate boundaries that I know of so I hope the best for my friend and her caregiver. They get along so well and bond well.
OP has another post. I think it will make things clear. I think she wrote in the 3rd party and that makes this confusing.
Funny, you should bring this up since it is not you, do you suspect foul play?
You friend is right, keep this relationship professional. Just keep it friendly. 8Some peoples definition of a friend is being able to ask something of them. Aides have been known to borrow money from a client and not pay it back. Known to take advantage in the name of friendship. I think your friend is smart.
We don’t hire people to be friends. We have friends. We hire someone to do a job. Sure, we can have a friendly manner but at the end of the day it is a business arrangement.
Maybe ask why she is confiding in you, does she need your help to figure it out?
That is a red flag, the new friend may be pushy, controlling towards your friend, and she is too kind to say no to her.
Also, would you want your friend to be discussing you with her new friend and caregiver?
Her caregiver needs to respect and follow orders and rules from your friend.
But friends don't follow orders and rules set by other friends. And friends are on equal footing.
The caregiver can quit if she doesn't like the job, but it's hard to quit on a friend.
Your friend can fire the caregiver if she stops doing a good job, but it's hard to fire a friend.
When one relationship is ruined, so is the other.
My personal rule: never do business with friends or family. Chances are both business and friendship/relation will be lost.
Your friend can tell her caregiver that she values her help so much that she does not want to risk losing it by complicating their relationship.
I'm not sure what your question is, really. If there are no extras expected of this caregiver as a friend by the client, and the caregiver is not borrowing money or the sterling silver flatware, what's the problem? The problem begins if the friendship spills over into duties, causing the caregiver to blow them off bc now she has extra privileges as a "friend" vs an employee.
When raising my son, I had housekeepers.
A friend went into business as a housekeeper, and I hired her.
Lost her as a friend and a housekeeper when she thought that my house was too clean and that I did not need a housekeeper.
She told me with other friends present, and quit publically.
It was really hard for her to clean my house and go out to lunch just after.
I understood.