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Comment by iammisc | Hacker News Reader

You must understand that this attitude is the minority. Most people like their workplace because they like the people there.

My dad worked in pharma sales for 30 years. Do you think he cared to sell the drugs? I mean... in that the drugs were helping people, he was happy. But his reason for going to work everyday was talking to his colleagues. To this day, he and his old colleagues still visit each other, still party together, and vacation together.

When I tell my parents that I do things like work on programming projects outside of work, they think I'm crazy. Being genuinely interested in the content of your work so much so that you'd do it outside of a job is unique to engineering professions, IME.

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I don't believe you are right. Literally everyone I've talked to the past year and a half has said how much they enjoy working remotely and that they never want to go back to an office. Both of our experiences are anecdotal, but from my perspective, those wanting to go back to the office are in the tiny minority, so much so that you are the first one I've heard express that view.

I work for a very big tech company that was not remote before covid. We did a huge survey recently and it showed that there is a small percentage that want only remote, and the rest is half and half split between "back to office" and "1-2 days in the office". We do have great office perks though

Yeah, I do not work for a big tech company, nor are there any big tech companies in my region. So nobody gets free food or other big tech company perks. That is surely coloring the reasons why nobody I know wants to work in the office.

I've worked at home for a few years now, and don't ever want to go back to the office unless:

- Commute is sub 10 minutes

- I get an office with a closing door

In 20 years, I've had that combo for maybe 18 months. I lost it when my team had to move to accommodate a management-heavy org that required the personal offices.

I used to be this way in my first job when I was surrounded by people in the same life stages (recently married started having kids/etc). I still hang out with those same people outside the office.

Now that I'm an older person and surrounded by younger people who are doing their own thing I don't socialize much at the office outside the basic daily banter. I left to be able to go remote. Then I can just socialize outside the office which I enjoy more.

Are you sure that this attitude is the minority?

I can easily go have fun with people outside of work, so I have no incentive to put up with the annoying parts of office work just to get to interact with people.

Well you have to work, so it's better to do it with people you like.

Obviously, if you didn't have to work, you wouldn't work just to see office mates.

But if you do have to work, slogging away in a common place with friends is more compelling than sitting behind a computer.

>But if you do have to work, slogging away in a common place with friends is more compelling than sitting behind a computer.

Not for me. When it comes to work, I would rather sit behind a computer at home and talk with my friends on another computer at the same time than sit behind a computer at an office and talk with my friends there in person.

I like all the people I work with and have know them all for 10+ years, but I would never spend time with them outside of work. The idea of conflating my private and public lives is anathema to me.

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