Facebook has launched a new groups option called 'work groups', which, Facebook says, will help people "connect with their coworkers more easily".

The option seeks to reduce the need to connect with every person you work with, and let them into your more personal interactions. By creating a specific group only for work colleagues, you can keep the two elements separate, with only your work-related information showing up in your work group profile.

The option also enables work group members to send messages to each other, without needing to be Facebook friends.

The addition of work groups was first reported by social media expert Matt Navarra earlier in the week, with Facebook making an official announcement on Thursday.

To create a work group, your group admin will need to:

• Go to: Group Settings > Group Type and select 'Work'
• Changing the group type to Work is available on both mobile and desktop
• Admins can switch back to the General group type at any time

Individual group members can also opt-out of the messaging feature, which will help avoid spammers or over-enthusiastic members.

It seems like a fairly minor option, but it does cater to a need to better protect user privacy, while also facilitating connection through the app. One of the big reasons why users have reportedly turned away from public posting on Facebook, and shifted towards private messaging and groups, is because everyone was connecting with everyone on the platform, which meant that distant relatives, past school alumni and colleagues from previous jobs were able to see all of your personal details - which, for some, has been problematic.

This option provides a new way to utilize the functional capacity of such connection, while still maintaining some boundaries. 

Of course, more businesses are signing up to Facebook Workplace too, which facilitates pretty much the same thing, but for those that aren't on Workplace, this could be an alternative option. 

You can read more about Facebook's work groups here.