A new dilemma for employees–what to do when their boss invites them to become a “friend” on a social networking site like Facebook?

As an article in today’s Wall Street Journal describes the dilemma: “You’re caught between the career-limiting rejection of virtual friendship or career-limiting access to photos of yourself glassy-eyed at a party.”

And if an employee does accept the invitation, some strategies he could use to protect his dignity are also problematic. Employing privacy features could be perceived as a snub. And sanitizing the profile could be interpreted as hiding something.

As the article says, it used to be that employees were expected to keep their personal lives and their professional lives separate. When bosses ask their employees to become online friends, they are mixing up the two.

Is that a good idea?