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Comment by joe-user | Hacker News Reader

> This seems like a good reason not to work somewhere.

I'm curious; why do you feel that way?

For many alcoholics, it's not possible to have "just one beer". If it's there, it's a constant, overwhelming temptation that is at best a distraction from your work and at worst the cause for a relapse. In addition to trying to avoid the distraction of the beer in the fridge, you need to be around people who _are_ enjoying a beer or two responsibly, which makes it even harder.

Fortunately, I'm not an alcoholic. I quite enjoy a beer or two with colleagues now and then, and that's the end of it. But I'll bet at least some of those same colleagues were going through a silent torture keeping it under control.

But I'm pretty sure I'm a compulsive eater. If there's a box of donuts I'll have one, for sure, like everyone else. Then a couple hours later, after having thought about donuts for the last two hours - (and hating myself for having eaten the donut), I'll have another. If there's free chips I'm sure to grab a pack when I walk by. A failure of willpower? Sure. A sign that I'm a lesser person, maybe lazy (funny since I would cycle 12 miles to work while they all drove...), and definitely gluttonous? You'd think that based on how some people treat you.

I lost 100 pounds by keeping absolutely, positively, nothing in my home that I could eat without cooking - this was an effective deterrent to impulse eating since cooking was a sufficient pain in the ass (these days I actually enjoy cooking! But I also weigh under 200 lbs now so I guess it's ok. Workplaces with free food can destroy that for people who struggle with eating. An aside - anyone who's gone from very obese to merely overweight or normal will tell you it's shocking just how differently people treat you. Not just potential romantic partners - _everyone_.

Anyway, I guess I'm saying that free food in the workplace, for me, is a psychological nightmare. Though if the free food is apples and carrot sticks, that's fine. I'll eat them if I'm hungry, and only then.

A workplace that offers free snacks, drinks, ping-pong tables and relaxation pods is set up to maximize your time spent in the office and encourages a culture that excludes people who value their time off work, for example because they have a family.

not necessarily. I don't do extratime at work, but still I enjoy free snacks, drinks, and so on

I've worked at plenty of places with free snacks/drinks (some even considered enterprise), but never a place that had ping pong tables or relaxation pods, so casually introducing those to the argument is a tough sell and changes the context enough so that I don't think the rest of your point still stands. What are your thoughts on a more fitting comparison, such as snacks/drinks provided vs. BYO/vending machine/go to the store?

Not OP but I'd say it's the shortest path to obesity, unless you have a very strong will.

I never buy anything at the automated machines at my workplace, but when my colleagues bring some food for others to share, I always take some, for instance.

Depending what's available. At my job, if I forget my lunch, my only option is driving to a fast-food joint. If my employer offered snacks (some healthy, some not), I'd likely end up healthier. It's situational, depends on the person and workplace. Willpower is only a small part of it (at least for me).

The commute times are way worse than the free lunches when it comes to family time.

This is ridiculous. I'm married, have two kids, and prioitize family. I leave at or before 5 nearly every day. And....

I love office perks. On-site haircuts are fantastic - much faster than going to a salon on a weekend. Snacks and free good coffee make the day more pleasant. I don't take advantage of all of the possible perks, as some are clearly aimed at people working different schedules than I. But the reverse holds true as well (the single 23 year old likely does not avail themselves of bring your child to work day activities. :)

It's not all a conspiracy to screw workers. Improving quality of time at work and productivity during work hours is a win for everyone. I leverage perks to get more family time, not less, and I observe many of my with-family colleagues doing similarly.

I work at Google. I get in at 8, leave at 4, because I value my family time more than my work time and it has not held me back whatsoever. Not even an eyebrow raised.

What position? If you want to disclose.

Similarly, I get in at 10 and leave at 5. I'm a generic swe.

I'm a senior SWE.

That's largely true for me as well (also Googler, albeit recent). Looking after a somewhat broader area in SRE as a manager, the one thing that makes that tricky at times is time zones of partner teams and stakeholders. I think Google does an overall good (but not perfect) job at trying to lessen the negative impact of that. There is a culture of respecting people's private time and working hours. There is certainly a culture of caring about each other's well being. (This may be biased by my org, SRE, or my office in Europe.)

I don't think it works this way (I worked at Google, the snacks were nice to have when I was there, but never a reason to stay late).

I worked somewhere with free coke and kit kats.

Turns out, I've got willpower when in the supermarket, but not when there's a fridge in the office. I could just about limit myself to 1 of each a day, but even that was too much.

Ah, interesting! Thanks!

That's one thing that bothers me too. If they provide something for free it's almost always junk food, candy or soda. I prefer not to have this in my face all the time while I am at work.

I think my workplace has set an effective deterrent by making all these ridiculously cheap, but still like $0.10. Hungry people eat, but not so much impulse eating.

Almost definitely not the case at Google presently. 80-90% of the fridge space is dedicated to non-soda beverages (flavored seltzers, cold brew coffee, iced teas), and the chips + candy are hidden out of sight in the snack areas.

Yeah, same here.

Interned at a place with free food and snacks (better than the ones I’ve seen at Google IMO) to a place without any and I lost weight. Nice side benefit.

We had chocolate covered digestive biscuits (both kinds of chocolate!). I got through them like nobody's business, but I only ate the chilled ones from the fridge (marginally healthier).

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