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Why is this article concentrating so much on forging social connections at work? People's social lives should be built outside work, not the result of corporate

Why is this article concentrating so much on forging social connections at work? People's social lives should be built outside work, not the result of corporate workplace sociality-boosting programs.

fredsted 9y ago
Because the article is on Harvard Business Review.
icebraining 9y ago
I'm very skeptical of corporate programs that try to meddle in their workers' personal lives, but why should people's social lives be built outside work? A workplace is the social setting in which most of us spend most time, seems like a waste to limit those bonds.
- wu-ikkyu 9y ago
  >why should people's social lives be built outside work? Because it is much more genuine, easier, and less risky. There are countless laws, regulations, and policies dictating how one is to act in the workplace: you must dress this way, you must use only approved language (no swearing), you must not speak on controversial topics, you must not offend anyone. A simple joke can get you reported to human resources and potentially fired.
  - icebraining 9y ago
    Because it is much more genuine, easier, and less risky. Right, but they're not mutually exclusive, so how they compare relatively is irrelevant. There are countless laws, regulations, and policies dictating how one is to act in the workplace: you must dress this way, you must use only approved language (no swearing), you must not speak on controversial topics, you must not offend anyone. Every social situation has its rules with which one must comply. The workplace may be more restricted than one's home or a bar, but hell, even in totalitarian states with political polices people managed to have friends. If one is in a particularly bad workplace, or have difficulty reading its social context, sure - it's better to keep one's head down and be merely polite. But as a rule, seems quite excessive.
    - heedlessly2 9y ago
      certain topics are off-limits for discussion with coworkers even if they occur away from the office. For example, if I feel strongly about pro-choice but my coworker, she feels very strongly about pro-life, then there may be some extra politics I need to deal with work. While she might not directly shown her distain, instead it'll be a bunch of subtle things she does that negatively affect the relationship. Ideally, political interest would have no effect, but realistic they might. I'd rather not take that chance. That's why I only talk politics with friend outside work. Secondly, I'd personally rather not talk about my private relationships and family with coworkers. If i was going through a divorce, I would not talk about that even with my closest coworker.Again, I would discuss that with a close friend outside of work. At work, people's status matters more. You always want to portray an image to look strong, positive. At work everybody has a job title, with friends outside of work, there are less stakes on 'status'.
- justin66 9y ago
  > why should people's social lives be built outside work? It's not a rule I always live by, but there are some pretty good reasons. The kind of social interaction among members that often benefits a business - focused on productivity and with confrontation designed to limit liability and risk - makes for a boring way to interact with people. Additionally, a person too heavily reliant on work for social ties is going to be somewhat vulnerable in the modern workplace where jobs aren't designed to last. > A workplace is the social setting in which most of us spend most time, seems like a waste to limit those bonds. IMO it's a mistake to devalue the secondary relationships in our lives - neighbors, coworkers, acquaintances - as being inferior or wasted if they cannot be converted to something more permanent or intimate. Good neighbors and pleasant coworkers are a pretty great thing, even if they're kept at arms length.
- smrtinsert 9y ago
  Don't learn this lesson the hard way. Social life and work life inevitably will clash and disastrously. To put your entire life into the hands a company where profit is the objective is a very bad idea both for the business as well as you socially. When it comes down to it, the business will have domain over the people you call friends at work.
  - icebraining 9y ago
    I'm not saying in any way that we should only (or even primarily) have friends inside the workplace, so I'm not advocating for putting our entire lives in a company. I'm saying "you're in a social setting separated from your friends and family for hours a day, why refuse to make extra friends?". I guess what I'm questioning is the "inevitably will clash disastrously". What sort of disasters are we talking about? Because I've known of pretty toxic workplaces, and there were certainly backstabbings by ex-friends, but very few events I'd classify as disastrous.

Why is this article concentrating so much on forging social connections at work? People's social lives should be built outside work, not the result of corporate workplace sociality-boosting programs.

fredsted 9y ago

Because the article is on Harvard Business Review.

icebraining 9y ago

I'm very skeptical of corporate programs that try to meddle in their workers' personal lives, but why should people's social lives be built outside work? A workplace is the social setting in which most of us spend most time, seems like a waste to limit those bonds.

wu-ikkyu 9y ago
>why should people's social lives be built outside work? Because it is much more genuine, easier, and less risky. There are countless laws, regulations, and policies dictating how one is to act in the workplace: you must dress this way, you must use only approved language (no swearing), you must not speak on controversial topics, you must not offend anyone. A simple joke can get you reported to human resources and potentially fired.
- icebraining 9y ago
  Because it is much more genuine, easier, and less risky. Right, but they're not mutually exclusive, so how they compare relatively is irrelevant. There are countless laws, regulations, and policies dictating how one is to act in the workplace: you must dress this way, you must use only approved language (no swearing), you must not speak on controversial topics, you must not offend anyone. Every social situation has its rules with which one must comply. The workplace may be more restricted than one's home or a bar, but hell, even in totalitarian states with political polices people managed to have friends. If one is in a particularly bad workplace, or have difficulty reading its social context, sure - it's better to keep one's head down and be merely polite. But as a rule, seems quite excessive.
  - heedlessly2 9y ago
    certain topics are off-limits for discussion with coworkers even if they occur away from the office. For example, if I feel strongly about pro-choice but my coworker, she feels very strongly about pro-life, then there may be some extra politics I need to deal with work. While she might not directly shown her distain, instead it'll be a bunch of subtle things she does that negatively affect the relationship. Ideally, political interest would have no effect, but realistic they might. I'd rather not take that chance. That's why I only talk politics with friend outside work. Secondly, I'd personally rather not talk about my private relationships and family with coworkers. If i was going through a divorce, I would not talk about that even with my closest coworker.Again, I would discuss that with a close friend outside of work. At work, people's status matters more. You always want to portray an image to look strong, positive. At work everybody has a job title, with friends outside of work, there are less stakes on 'status'.
justin66 9y ago
> why should people's social lives be built outside work? It's not a rule I always live by, but there are some pretty good reasons. The kind of social interaction among members that often benefits a business - focused on productivity and with confrontation designed to limit liability and risk - makes for a boring way to interact with people. Additionally, a person too heavily reliant on work for social ties is going to be somewhat vulnerable in the modern workplace where jobs aren't designed to last. > A workplace is the social setting in which most of us spend most time, seems like a waste to limit those bonds. IMO it's a mistake to devalue the secondary relationships in our lives - neighbors, coworkers, acquaintances - as being inferior or wasted if they cannot be converted to something more permanent or intimate. Good neighbors and pleasant coworkers are a pretty great thing, even if they're kept at arms length.
smrtinsert 9y ago
Don't learn this lesson the hard way. Social life and work life inevitably will clash and disastrously. To put your entire life into the hands a company where profit is the objective is a very bad idea both for the business as well as you socially. When it comes down to it, the business will have domain over the people you call friends at work.
- icebraining 9y ago
  I'm not saying in any way that we should only (or even primarily) have friends inside the workplace, so I'm not advocating for putting our entire lives in a company. I'm saying "you're in a social setting separated from your friends and family for hours a day, why refuse to make extra friends?". I guess what I'm questioning is the "inevitably will clash disastrously". What sort of disasters are we talking about? Because I've known of pretty toxic workplaces, and there were certainly backstabbings by ex-friends, but very few events I'd classify as disastrous.