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Comment by thr0waw4y5555 | Hacker News Reader

Having worked in the FAANG / startup offices you describe, they always felt like they were designed to appeal to someone in their early 20s who was irritated that they didn’t have the benefits of living at home with parents who take care of “adult” responsibilities. Instead of calling it immaturity, we tech folks give it a more digestible name and call it “time optimization”. Some of us like the autonomy of maintaining our lives without some parent-like figure - you know, actually growing up? It was funny - when I worked there and described the benefits, one of my non-tech friends just stared at me and said - “so... they give you that so you never leave work? That sounds miserable.” Changed my outlook forever on the benefits.

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Looking down on this might help you feel superior, but I always view this "you should grow up and swallow" tone as a bit backwards. Among the current 70+ year old generation around here it is common to think people are lazy for using dishwashers and washing machines, and doing it the good manual time consuming way builds character. Not really common nowadays but 20 years ago you heard it all the time.

Why rail against people using convenience and amenity as if it's some kind of character flaw?...

I don't mean to put words in OP's mouth, they may think exactly as you've described, but I think the issue is less of a character flaw and more about being sort of trapped at work.

If part of your identity is your workplace, perhaps that's fine? That can be hard for people to understand when they don't integrate their work into their identity though, and that could be the distaste.

And I agree with the spirit of your post, I believe. I think it's important for people to find their own methods for establishing an identity, but more importantly to teach everyone to recognize and respect alternative methods without trying to rail against them as you say.

They framed their argument like enjoying those perks was a symbol of immaturity, which is what sets the condescending tone.

I love having a good cafeteria for breakfast and lunch. Going out to eat is such a massive time sink and you really should eat with your coworkers where possible. On-site gyms are the same, if I'm already going to the gym after work, why make a special trip?

It doesn't mean that you're stuck at work the entire time. In fact, I'd argue that it can reduce your time at the office, if used right. Use your breaks to run some errands that you'd normally do after work. Schedule your workout for 3:00-4:00 if you have a meeting that runs a little later. Etc.

You can be a fully functioning adult and still enjoy those benefits.

The immaturity is not realizing that the tech company is reinventing the company store of the past. the salary and these cheap perks (compared to more salary) still net out to a win for the company. if it wasn't, they wouldn't do it. and that time you spend washing clothes at home can also be spent talking to other ppl at home, watching tv, reading a book...not working.

also, quite frankly as someone who has had a life that spans restaurant cooking and FANNG employment, that food will never be as good for you as food you make for yourself/ someone makes for you at hom.

My dishwasher doesn't work well, and after thinking about it, since I don't have a lot of dishes, I have been doing them manually for a few years.

It has not really enhanced any aspect of my character. If anything I tend to get paper plates more often because I don't want to do the dishes sometimes.

That actually wasn’t what he was railing against though, he was saying that it was manipulative of the employers to provide all these services with the intention to keep their employees at their desks for as many hours of the day as they could, rather than fostering a degree of work life balance.

False equivalence. Having a washing machine benefits you, using the amenities under discussion benefits the corporate scumbags.

Using a washing machine benefits the corporate scumbags of the household appliance company. Benefits are not mutually exclusive.

I'd also argue that the only nefarious benefit is possibly keeping you stuck in the office. The employee being happy, healthy and with more time on their hands is a benefit to both the employee and company, and a much larger boon to the employee.

I previously held a job at a tech company with nice amenities, including optional dinner. Dinner didn't start until 6:30, and they stopped serving breakfast at 9:30, so if I wanted three free meals I was at the office for at least 10 hours a day. Sounds bad, right?

Guess what – I was also free to go run an errand in the middle of the day, leave at 5 to go to a fitness class and come back for dinner, or just leave whenever and not come back. Many days I'd work from home until 11:30 or so, and then go in for lunch. Some days I'd work from home entirely.

You can call me an infantile corporate slave all you want, but I knew what was going from day one (that the food policies are designed in the company's self-interest was obvious and not, to me, repugnant) and perfectly capable of taking care of myself when I need to, thank you very much.

Since I left that job, I've cooked for myself and my partner quite regularly. Shopping, cooking, cleaning, etc is an incredible time suck, and most of it much less fun than the extra 2 hours I spent at the office (half that eating, and the other half maybe working or maybe not). It does feel nice to be in control of my life this way, but if I were to go back to employment I'd absolutely desire the perks I had at the previous job.

> “adult” responsibilities

as though these "responsibilities" are worthy of spending time. If it was possible, eating out and not having to chores (of washing dishes etc) is a good luxury.

> they give you that so you never leave work?

yes, this is why, but if you understand what the trade off is, and decide that it's better, then it's not miserable. And if you also happen to enjoy the work, it's a win-win.

Sounds to me that people who does not enjoy such benefits are just getting sour grapes.

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