Or is he a bit weird?

[Frenchmartinis]

So at work the other day I emailed a team about something and ended up exchanging two or three emails with someone (let's call him Tom) in which he helped me and I thanked him.

I've never met Tom, and didn't think all that much about the conversation at all. Later on I had a friend request from him on Facebook which seemed a little weird. Then I thought well, it's nice to be nice and it's good to have friends in my organisation. Tom liked a couple of my profile pics yesterday and now I'm thinking it's maybe a little odd? I haven't really been involved with any men for a few years and I don't know if this is a bit overly friendly or just kind of odd? What do you think? Am I reading too much into it? Tom doesn't even know me. He's probably just seen my teams photo and has noticed we're around the same age. I haven't really been involved with any men for a few years and find any attention kind of unusual. AIBU to think anything of this other than a colleague being friendly?

It's possible he is single and looking, and has put you in the 'possibility' zone, hoping to get to know you better. Or he might just be being friendly. Or he might be one of those types who is uber-keen to network with any professionals who come his way. If you are open to his possible interest, play it by ear and see what happens. If not, just keep your interactions professional and confined to work things.

If this happened to me, I’d find it weird.

I wouldn’t dream of adding someone from work on Facebook who wasn’t in my team/department, let alone like their pictures.

Keep him at arms length. Sometimes with men, you give them an inch and they take a mile.

I've been in my job six months and barely have any of the colleagues I work with daily on LinkedIn let alone Facebook. Sounds a bit weird to me.

Yep, he's being weird! Without knowing anything else about him, I'd guess he's someone who doesn't quite understand what the form is when it comes to coworkers and/or social media... i.e., probably a bit socially awkward (or possibly very bold)!

I can think of one former coworker who friended everyone from work. He was genuinely just a nice guy, a bit lonely after his wife had died, and a bit out of date on social media etiquette - no ulterior motive. But that was unusual and I do think there's a good chance your guy is trying it on...

Can you see if he has other colleagues as friends, and if so, what interactions he's had with their profiles? While I generally don't think it's a good idea to do a deep dive on anyone, this might be one of those occasions when it could be useful!