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"You can choose your friends independently of your work" I have met the majority of my friends at work. Once you pass your 20s, your exposure to strangers dimi

"You can choose your friends independently of your work" I have met the majority of my friends at work. Once you pass your 20s, your exposure to strangers diminishes greatly. And many of us do not have kids.

andrewflnr 5y ago
I think this is something that society can adjust to and be better off for it. People would have to be more intentional about meeting new people (seeking out meetups or whatever), but the results are likely to be better.
- Pet_Ant 5y ago
  I find people just want to drink at home alone and watch Netflix. Good friends I had unworn for 20-odd years. WFH I imagine many will drink themselves to an early grave.
  - pseudalopex 5y ago
    In my experience most people who just want to drink at home and watch Netflix do it because the commute and the office drain them.
- aisle 5y ago
  And intentional about exercising (as opposed to walking to BART or even directly to work for 20 mins), and intentional about eating right (instead of hopping over to Mixt Greens for a complex and healthy salad). And intentional about their work area actually being healthy (adequate sun exposure, free of radon in the case of a basement office). On and on and on. There is no way to guarantee all of this stuff for remote workers. The US was already becoming too isolated. I just don't understand all the optimism about people just figuring this stuff out, or even companies being able to help from a distance, at all. We're in for a ton of downstream problems.
  - danaris 5y ago
    > There is no way to guarantee all of this stuff for remote workers. That seems like a non sequitur to me. Are you expecting the employer to guarantee this stuff? To police an employee's exercising, eating, and meeting people? (Some degree of policing healthiness of workspace seems reasonable, but it can very easily go overboard...) If resources are made available to help people become more intentional about these things, why would they help people working in an office more than people working from home? Exercising is much easier if you aren't stuck on a train/in a car on the freeway for an hour every morning and evening. Eating right is much easier when you have the extra time (and energy) to make a fresh home-cooked meal some or all evenings. Meeting people is easier when you have the freedom to choose where you live based on where you would prefer, rather than being stuck living within 1-3 hours' drive from a specific office building. Even having a healthy work area is easier when you have the freedom to design it yourself, rather than having to be in exactly the same cost-efficient cubicle as 999 other employees. If we can make working from home a norm—for those who want it, for companies for whom it makes sense—a lot of these things can be improved.
  - jfrunyon 5y ago
    Most Americans drive to work. Most people will eat better at home (with plenty of their own groceries to cook) rather than at work (where they either have to prep ahead of time, or eat out). And I've literally never seen a single room in a house with less lighting than any of the offices I have ever worked in. And if people want to work in an office... let them? I'm not sure why everyone hears remote work and thinks "oh great, businesses will just not have an office at all". ???
    - andrewflnr 5y ago
      Well, there's some merit to that last objection. Hybrid remote/local workplaces have a pretty poor track record w.r.t. making sure the remote portion has equal participation, opportunities, etc. IMO that will be the real challenge.
  - andrewflnr 5y ago
    You mean people will have to take more responsibility for all aspects of their lives, without an employer helping them? You've convinced me, that's an unacceptable outcome, let's shove everyone back in offices. Sarcasm aside, this was already my situation before the pandemic, just due to not making real friends at work. It takes work, but not that much. Each individual is ultimately responsible for their wellbeing, because they're the only ones who can be. Any help from their employer (if they even have one, e.g. not a freelancer) is a bonus.
dudul 5y ago
> Once you pass your 20s, your exposure to strangers diminishes greatly Could it be, at least partly, caused by having to commute to the office? When you work from home, it becomes so much easier to pick up a hobby and meet new people.

andrewflnr 5y ago

I think this is something that society can adjust to and be better off for it. People would have to be more intentional about meeting new people (seeking out meetups or whatever), but the results are likely to be better.

Pet_Ant 5y ago
I find people just want to drink at home alone and watch Netflix. Good friends I had unworn for 20-odd years. WFH I imagine many will drink themselves to an early grave.
- pseudalopex 5y ago
  In my experience most people who just want to drink at home and watch Netflix do it because the commute and the office drain them.
aisle 5y ago
And intentional about exercising (as opposed to walking to BART or even directly to work for 20 mins), and intentional about eating right (instead of hopping over to Mixt Greens for a complex and healthy salad). And intentional about their work area actually being healthy (adequate sun exposure, free of radon in the case of a basement office). On and on and on. There is no way to guarantee all of this stuff for remote workers. The US was already becoming too isolated. I just don't understand all the optimism about people just figuring this stuff out, or even companies being able to help from a distance, at all. We're in for a ton of downstream problems.
- danaris 5y ago
  > There is no way to guarantee all of this stuff for remote workers. That seems like a non sequitur to me. Are you expecting the employer to guarantee this stuff? To police an employee's exercising, eating, and meeting people? (Some degree of policing healthiness of workspace seems reasonable, but it can very easily go overboard...) If resources are made available to help people become more intentional about these things, why would they help people working in an office more than people working from home? Exercising is much easier if you aren't stuck on a train/in a car on the freeway for an hour every morning and evening. Eating right is much easier when you have the extra time (and energy) to make a fresh home-cooked meal some or all evenings. Meeting people is easier when you have the freedom to choose where you live based on where you would prefer, rather than being stuck living within 1-3 hours' drive from a specific office building. Even having a healthy work area is easier when you have the freedom to design it yourself, rather than having to be in exactly the same cost-efficient cubicle as 999 other employees. If we can make working from home a norm—for those who want it, for companies for whom it makes sense—a lot of these things can be improved.
- jfrunyon 5y ago
  Most Americans drive to work. Most people will eat better at home (with plenty of their own groceries to cook) rather than at work (where they either have to prep ahead of time, or eat out). And I've literally never seen a single room in a house with less lighting than any of the offices I have ever worked in. And if people want to work in an office... let them? I'm not sure why everyone hears remote work and thinks "oh great, businesses will just not have an office at all". ???
  - andrewflnr 5y ago
    Well, there's some merit to that last objection. Hybrid remote/local workplaces have a pretty poor track record w.r.t. making sure the remote portion has equal participation, opportunities, etc. IMO that will be the real challenge.
- andrewflnr 5y ago
  You mean people will have to take more responsibility for all aspects of their lives, without an employer helping them? You've convinced me, that's an unacceptable outcome, let's shove everyone back in offices. Sarcasm aside, this was already my situation before the pandemic, just due to not making real friends at work. It takes work, but not that much. Each individual is ultimately responsible for their wellbeing, because they're the only ones who can be. Any help from their employer (if they even have one, e.g. not a freelancer) is a bonus.

dudul 5y ago

> Once you pass your 20s, your exposure to strangers diminishes greatly Could it be, at least partly, caused by having to commute to the office? When you work from home, it becomes so much easier to pick up a hobby and meet new people.