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Joel Spolsky made a good case for eating lunch together in a blog post earlier this year: http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2011/04/28.html http://www.joelons

Joel Spolsky made a good case for eating lunch together in a blog post earlier this year: http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2011/04/28.html http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2011/04/28.html There are many cultures, too, in which eating together has a lot of significance for a relationship. It's a very basic biological necessity that I think has deep, tribal roots as a bonding experience. I think it can be especially important for nerds, too, in that we're not gregarious or socially outgoing by nature.

inuhj 15y ago
I prefer not to eat with my coworkers or even see them outside of work. Work is stressful enough and we're all great friends when we're there...but we all understand that we spend too much time together and would rather not spend our lunch breaks or weekends talking about work because it isn't productive. We hit the same points over and over again. It's a never ending meeting.
rhizome 15y ago
I think it can be especially important for nerds, too, in that we're not gregarious or socially outgoing by nature. Well how does this work, then? "Some people don't like olives, that's why we have an olive-eating contest every Thursday."
- joebadmo 15y ago
  Come on. Seriously? Not being gregarious or socially outgoing isn't the same as anti-social or misanthropic. Some of us welcome and appreciate a structured way in which to socialize. Without a group lunch, a hypothetical nerdy new employee might not reach out to people socially, and his equally nerdy co-workers might not reach out to him. With a group lunch, nobody has to.
  - rhizome 15y ago
    Without a group lunch, a hypothetical nerdy new employee might not reach out to people socially, and his equally nerdy co-workers might not reach out to him. A company who relies on group lunches to make a company work normally needs new management, period. Surely there's an HR/hiring problem if people are being brought on board who require informal interaction outside of a work context in order to do good work. You might think I'm being all Sheldon about this, but work-life balance is important to me, and lunchtime is a part of that. It's a very basic biological necessity that I think has deep, tribal roots as a bonding experience. Sure, but as you say, this is solely your belief. That doesn't make it fact, and it doesn't mean it applies to anybody else. If you can only work at a company that subscribes to this belief, that's your option, but it's not fair to say that every company should hew to your beliefs.
    - joebadmo 15y ago
      I think you miscontrue the premise. It's not that the company relies on group lunch. It just helps to integrate the group and improve communication. It also helps people get to know each other, which can be hard for introverts to do without structure. Maybe that's not necessarily a boon to productivity, but I appreciate it. I also don't think anyone (least of all me) is saying this should be universally enforced as standard practice. If you say you must have this time for yourself, and that's a deal-breaker for you, then I respect that. You obviously wouldn't want to work for a company that insists on this. I'm also not saying that I wouldn't work at a company that didn't have this or a similar policy. I'm just saying I agree that this kind of policy can help, especially among nerds.
      - rhizome 15y ago
        The lack of structure you mention is my point. There are a million ways to compensate for it, and group lunch is one of them.

inuhj 15y ago

I prefer not to eat with my coworkers or even see them outside of work. Work is stressful enough and we're all great friends when we're there...but we all understand that we spend too much time together and would rather not spend our lunch breaks or weekends talking about work because it isn't productive. We hit the same points over and over again. It's a never ending meeting.

rhizome 15y ago

I think it can be especially important for nerds, too, in that we're not gregarious or socially outgoing by nature. Well how does this work, then? "Some people don't like olives, that's why we have an olive-eating contest every Thursday."

joebadmo 15y ago
Come on. Seriously? Not being gregarious or socially outgoing isn't the same as anti-social or misanthropic. Some of us welcome and appreciate a structured way in which to socialize. Without a group lunch, a hypothetical nerdy new employee might not reach out to people socially, and his equally nerdy co-workers might not reach out to him. With a group lunch, nobody has to.
- rhizome 15y ago
  Without a group lunch, a hypothetical nerdy new employee might not reach out to people socially, and his equally nerdy co-workers might not reach out to him. A company who relies on group lunches to make a company work normally needs new management, period. Surely there's an HR/hiring problem if people are being brought on board who require informal interaction outside of a work context in order to do good work. You might think I'm being all Sheldon about this, but work-life balance is important to me, and lunchtime is a part of that. It's a very basic biological necessity that I think has deep, tribal roots as a bonding experience. Sure, but as you say, this is solely your belief. That doesn't make it fact, and it doesn't mean it applies to anybody else. If you can only work at a company that subscribes to this belief, that's your option, but it's not fair to say that every company should hew to your beliefs.
  - joebadmo 15y ago
    I think you miscontrue the premise. It's not that the company relies on group lunch. It just helps to integrate the group and improve communication. It also helps people get to know each other, which can be hard for introverts to do without structure. Maybe that's not necessarily a boon to productivity, but I appreciate it. I also don't think anyone (least of all me) is saying this should be universally enforced as standard practice. If you say you must have this time for yourself, and that's a deal-breaker for you, then I respect that. You obviously wouldn't want to work for a company that insists on this. I'm also not saying that I wouldn't work at a company that didn't have this or a similar policy. I'm just saying I agree that this kind of policy can help, especially among nerds.
    - rhizome 15y ago
      The lack of structure you mention is my point. There are a million ways to compensate for it, and group lunch is one of them.