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Comment by siva7 | Hacker News Reader

> "I personally like working in office because it's where I work, and then I go home and that's my home. "

Well, that's not how IT nowadays works. On the assembly line, sure. But modern IT professionals usually take their "work" with them. I remember the times we had desktop computers and work really stayed in the office when we left, but the default in 2024 is laptop/mobile workplace.

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That's true (and for valid reasons, e.g. saving on insurance/security at the office), but that doesn't mean you don't get to have a work/life boundary. There's a EU directive (or there will be) colloquially called the right to disconnect: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/topics/en/article/20210121STO...

modern IT professionals usually take their "work" with them.

This only became really prevalent post covid in my experience. Pre-Covid, when coming into the office every day was the norm, a lot of people, at least at places I worked, left their laptops at the office over night.

We have lockers at work, and I leave the laptop there.

It's a simple decision that a) forces me to go to the office every day on foot, b) allows me to separate work and home, and c) allows me to unwind while I walk home from work.

This is a good Idea. Unfortuntely, most people, especially yonger colleagues, don't have the money to buy a separate laptop und usually use the work laptop for private use.

My previous laptop was a $180 Thinkpad that stayed with me for five years. The claim that _most_ IT workers can't afford that and are forced to do their private stuff on a company computer sounds preposterous.

You’re digging your heels in by cosplaying proletariat. If someone wants a separate computer, they’ll get one. It’s not a matter of not being able to afford it. Maybe their work computer is better than the one they’d buy themselves. Or maybe “afford” in this case (as usual) means that they can’t justify the cost when they could spend the money on something else, and are happy trading the work-life balance.

But don’t pretend that this isn’t a consensual arrangement.

I don’t understand why anyone would take issue with my reply. I just shared a perspective/experience.

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