I wasn't even thinking about on the job, just the situation when someone at a party/gathering mentions a problem they're facing (personal or professional) and t

I wasn't even thinking about on the job, just the situation when someone at a party/gathering mentions a problem they're facing (personal or professional) and the recipients of this information can either limit their response to commiseration or let it expand into solving the problem. While appreciation for the latter isn't universal, I think it goes well beyond engineers.