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I think a lot of this boils down to kids vs no kids. I really enjoyed working in the office when I didn't have kids. Hanging out with coworkers after work was

I think a lot of this boils down to kids vs no kids. I really enjoyed working in the office when I didn't have kids. Hanging out with coworkers after work was pretty normal, and sometimes my wife would come along too. We're still good friends with a lot of my old coworkers. In fact, those are the people we hang out with now. But now that I have kids I'd rather spend time with them or on my hobbies with them or hanging out with other people with kids while the kids do kid's stuff. It's true, I don't know my current coworkers nearly as well as I did my old ones, and that's been a bit of a problem. We have occasional in person events and it's always a good time. But that's because it's infrequent. Giving up my flexibility of working from home is something I will never do. But I totally sympathize with people who don't have kids and their social circle is their coworkers (that was me!).

pwm 4y ago
Pretty much yep. I'd also say it boils down to age which tends to correlate with having a family and also better WFH conditions. When I was young, single, living in a small apartment going into a nice office was great. Nowadays I'm older, have a wife, a kid, a house with a nice garden office. I still love and enthusiastic about what i do but thanks to the internet i can do it from the comfort of my own place.
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bcrosby95 4y ago
As an aside, I've worked from home my whole career and that time you spent after work with coworkers, I spent with my friends. So I never really needed to use work as a social outlet. Most of my friends I see in person come from my high school days or online gaming.
mecha_ghidorah 4y ago
Nah I don't have kids I am way happier working from home. I can spend more time with my partner, and when she and I both have a quiet moment we can make tea/coffee together and have a short break in our work day. I can do things like fold or hang laundry during meetings. I save money and so much time and energy by not commuting. I like going into the office occasionally for a change of environment and to have access to some of the things in the city after work, but I want that maybe one day out of every two weeks
nickm12 4y ago
FWIW, I have kids and strongly prefer going into the office. Keeps my home life and work life separate and when I am home it is easier to be in the mental space of being with the family. When I worked from home for the first 18 months of the pandemic, I lost that separation and it was stressful.
- boruto 4y ago
  Yes, Very hard to solve that bug with a toddler throwing tantrum to gnaw on a raw eggplant.

pwm 4y ago

Pretty much yep. I'd also say it boils down to age which tends to correlate with having a family and also better WFH conditions. When I was young, single, living in a small apartment going into a nice office was great. Nowadays I'm older, have a wife, a kid, a house with a nice garden office. I still love and enthusiastic about what i do but thanks to the internet i can do it from the comfort of my own place.

deleted 4y ago

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bcrosby95 4y ago

As an aside, I've worked from home my whole career and that time you spent after work with coworkers, I spent with my friends. So I never really needed to use work as a social outlet. Most of my friends I see in person come from my high school days or online gaming.

mecha_ghidorah 4y ago

Nah I don't have kids I am way happier working from home. I can spend more time with my partner, and when she and I both have a quiet moment we can make tea/coffee together and have a short break in our work day. I can do things like fold or hang laundry during meetings. I save money and so much time and energy by not commuting. I like going into the office occasionally for a change of environment and to have access to some of the things in the city after work, but I want that maybe one day out of every two weeks

nickm12 4y ago

FWIW, I have kids and strongly prefer going into the office. Keeps my home life and work life separate and when I am home it is easier to be in the mental space of being with the family. When I worked from home for the first 18 months of the pandemic, I lost that separation and it was stressful.

boruto 4y ago
Yes, Very hard to solve that bug with a toddler throwing tantrum to gnaw on a raw eggplant.