I do feel for that poor woman who was sacked last week for posting on Facebook that she was bored with her job. I'm sure that some of our people find bits of their jobs less interesting than other bits – I know I do.

A friend who works in a charity said to me that night: “Well, I've removed all my work contacts from my Facebook page today. I would not be surprised if our HR team did something similar, and I do want to be able to talk about my job to my mates without reprisals!” I was not surprised because she works in a culture where fear is rife. I thought this was such a shame. For two reasons – first that she should work in a climate of such fear of losing your job if you do not toe the company line. Second, by removing her work friends from the site she is losing a special, more intimate contact with a group of colleagues. It is that friendship, those groupings, those pub outings or chats over coffee where we talk about our lives, our families, our feelings (good and bad about work) that bind us together and make us more than mere colleagues.

HR teams should be doing more to drive friendships and openness about the world of work. By not embracing social media, ultimately, HR as a function will be put at a disadvantage, and probably be put completely out of touch with people. Now more than ever we need people to feel relaxed and respected at work. I often remember a wonderful creative director from my days in advertising. He had a tattoo on his arm with just two words: “relaxed” and “respected”. I asked him why those two words and he said: “That’s how I want every single person I interact with to feel – and how I’d like to feel every day.”

Perhaps this could be our motto in the HR community? I’ll get the tattoo if a few more HR professionals come with me – anyone up for that?