Business executives feel uneasy about mixing business with pleasure on Facebook, a new survey finds.

Seventy-two per cent of employees say they feel uncomfortable accepting friend requests from staff members they manage and 69 per cent are hesitant to befriend their bosses on the social networking site. Thirty-eight per cent are not comfortable at all adding co-workers to their site, the survey finds.

"The line between personal and professional has grown increasingly blurred as more people use social networking websites for business purposes," said Robert Hosking, executive director of OfficeTeam, the staffing service that developed the survey, in a release.

"Although not everyone is comfortable using sites like Facebook to connect with professional contacts, it's wise to be prepared for these types of requests."

Hosking suggests employees determine whether their Facebook habits are in line with their company's policy concerning social networking sites. He also advises them to set up different settings to create multiple friend lists, depending on whether the individuals are co-workers or personal friends.

And people should keep in mind what office mates may see on their sites — including personal information, photos, music preferences and group affiliations.

As for bosses, Hosking suggests thinking twice about befriending a person in a managerial role in case the office dynamic should change or roles shift, creating an awkward situation.

The survey was based on phone interviews with 100 senior executives across Canada who were randomly chosen. It was conducted on June 26 by polling firm International Communication Research. The margin of error was eight per cent.