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Comment by globular-toast | Hacker News Reader

Socialise in your own time. That's not work and you shouldn't be getting paid for it. I know people like to believe work gets done like the stock photos of diverse people in suits laughing. It doesn't. If work was about laughing literally anyone could do it. Many people go to offices every day and do literally nothing.

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Get off your high horse please. Many folks enjoy a social component while being productive instead of being a drone for 8 hours every day.

Get off your high horse. Working without socialising all day is not being a drone.

Working without (socializing all day) is doing your job. (Working without socializing) all day is being a drone. And likely not even doing your job any more effectively.

drone (noun) - One who performs menial or tedious work.

I don't know what point you are trying to make, but drone is not the word you are looking for.

I would argue that for some of us it is. As a domain expert on security, I'm not directly member of the teams. Still at office, over hearing related discussions allow me to possibly help them or be aware of up coming things that I or my team(security) should be aware of and possibly track. This is certainly type of socialising that is work.

Sorry, but no. Work is supposed to work for me, as well as me working for it. Some people might be fine with perfect compartmentalization of work, but I would find it soul crushing to just be a corporate machine for 8 hours a day.

Then don't work for a big corporation. I work for a small company from home. My work is interesting and varied and I don't have the time to socialise, even if I wanted to. I get to spend more time with my family instead.

My company does have an office, though, and I don't live more than an hour away. I will go into the office for some things, like whiteboard planning meetings, training and other things. It's going in every day for the very few times it's actually beneficial that I can't stand.

Then work part-time. Every second you're at work is a second you're a corporate machine. No wonder so many people don't get anything done, if they don't actually work the time they're paid to.

Because working for hours without stopping for even a second is the most effective way of working?

Exactly. I consider coffee breaks and the like to be a healthy part of work life balance. They stimulate new ideas and learning in a way that video conferencing does not. Software is not like back breaking warehouse labour (which I used to do). An unhealthy mind produces nothing but shit output.

I chose my field specifically because it matters to me what I work on and doing it while being surrounded by great people matters even more. Not as a means to an end. That would've just left me bitter fourty years from now.

I didn't even know software had big money until I joined the industry, which probably explains my whole philosophy WRT in-person work.

news flash, most people are paid per hour, not per work unit

I appreciate the thoughts, but I can assure you that your worries are misplaced. I get my work done just fine.

Then why not just do all your work in a fraction of the time at home and use the time saved doing other stuff?

Because I don’t want to? I’m enriching my life with these social experiences.

Why do you care how I spend my time if I’m not harming anyone or failing to fulfill my responsibilities? It seems like you have a bit of an axe to grind here.

You are. People like you force people like me to come to work to entertain you.

Wow, that's certainly one way to spin it. I don't care if you work from home, just don't force me to.

You do, though. You want to be social which mean you require other people to be at work with you.

There are plenty of people who are interested in doing that. There isn’t a shortage.

Your own time, like lunch break?

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