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"Technology companies like Google and Facebook provide opportunities for shared games, sports, exercise and meals — and research suggests that playing together
by dceddia 11y ago
"Technology companies like Google and Facebook provide opportunities for shared games, sports, exercise and meals — and research suggests that playing together and eating together are good ways to foster cooperation."
Does anyone else find this sort of stuff very corporate and off-putting? I'm all for hanging out with some coworkers on occasion. I like quite a few of them. But company-sponsored "hang out with your coworkers to foster friendships!" time just seems fake.
- Cookingboy 11y agoIn the case of Facebook and Google, they are not "company sponsored events" more like the company provide those facility and opportunities for people who want to do it anyway. For example you can drop by the arcade at Google and play a game of DDR, and if you make some friends there it's all for the best, not unlike the real world outside of work. Same is true for the meals, you absolutely can choose to eat alone with your headphones on, but you can also talk to people. TL;DR the relationships are by no means shoved down your throat by the company, they just provide an environment that makes it easy.
- mhurron 11y ago> Does anyone else find this sort of stuff very corporate and off-putting No you're not. I refuse to participate in them.
- YokoZar 11y agoThere's a substantial difference between teambuilding work events on work time and putting out a basketball court on campus for employees to use in their off hours. The latter is still a "company provided opportunity for shared games".
- dceddia 11y agoYeah, I'm thinking I may have misread this bit -- giving employees spaces and time to hang out is definitely different from (and better than) the "teambuilding" stuff that seems fake.
- slingerofwheat 11y agoNo. For a lot of people who move in from strange places on earth to work at FB/Goog/tech company, making friends is very hard. Hanging out with co-workers has been the primary way for a lot of people I know to have a social life. I'm a nerdy Asian guy who worked with a predominantly white company and it was very lonely there, because none of the white people want to "hang out with co-workers". However, moving to a larger company really helped me make friends and boost my self esteem. It may be corporatey, but I'm thankful my company atleast cares that much.
- dceddia 11y agoThanks, I hadn't thought of it from that perspective :) I'm glad you found some friends.
- carlsbadnm 11y agoTotally awkward and forced, and I'm also totally appreciative of it. Meeting people can be hard, workplace or no. Some of us don't keep the same friends for our entire lives, for reasons that are unique to us and very reasonable.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]