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Comment by Pet_Ant | Hacker News Reader

I don't know. I started a new job right before Covid. I have never met any of my remaining coworkers (my onboarders both left). I don't care about them. I'm definitely less willing to do something extra to help them out like take a ticket so they aren't stressing their anniversary etc. I feel like remote work brings out the psychopathy in (some?) of us because they aren't real people in any tangible sense.

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I think you got unfairly roasted on just saying how YOU feel about remote work and your coworkers. I’d like to remind some people that a job is sometimes just a job, and you don’t even have to like your coworkers, yet have a personal relationship with them. OP just said he don’t want do anything extra for them and I think that’s fair, as long as he don’t expect them to help him out.

I totally get it.

Also, don’t feel bad about what the remote-work zealots have to say in this thread (or anywhere for that matter). This forum is full of them I’ve learnt over the course of this pandemic.

Saying “I don’t prefer or like remote work but I totally empathise with why others do or might do” isn’t enough for them. Nothing less than “Remote work! Hallelujah!” works for them.

Yikes. I've been remote working for 4 years and I care a great deal about my coworkers, including the ones I've never met face to face. Hopefully they don't feel the same way you do.

Honestly I completely agree. Not having in person contact with other humans is tough for me.

Don’t forget that even though it’s just work, it still takes up a third of your day. I would personally prefer to spend that third of my day working around other people.

I can’t express how much I hate having to communicate through a four inch by four inch box on my computer screen.

I'm with you. My coworkers have become less real to me over time. A couple of times I have caught normal disagreements with people I used to personally like, turning into "someone is wrong on the internet" [0]. I'm trying to be vigilant about still behaving as if there were a real relationship there, but emotionally there really isn't.

I understand that some people prefer the arms-length / just-the-facts-ma'am working style but it's not for me. And I used to think I was a hardcore introvert!

[0] https://xkcd.com/386/

I think the problem here is you. I've been working remote for years and very much care about them and would take tickets for them to help them out for anniversaries or whatever.

I don’t the root comment has a problem, I think different people relate to other people differently. For some (maybe a lot) of people there is no substitute for breathing the same air as someone else.

Sounds like you wouldn't be that pleasant of a person to work with in person, either.

What kind of work are you doing that doesn't require meeting coworkers?

I interned remotely last summer and I got really close with my manager, speaking to him every day, even though we've never met in person. Far closer than I got with my manager (different person, same company), the previous summer interning in person. I think your psychopathy is all you.

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