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>Almost every day I see comments here ridiculing the idea that someone might enjoy the presence of their coworkers. This seems misleading, I've rarely come acr

>Almost every day I see comments here ridiculing the idea that someone might enjoy the presence of their coworkers. This seems misleading, I've rarely come across that even among people who are in threads proclaiming they completely prefer remote 100%. What I do see is a ridiculing of the idea that you have to be in an office environment to socialize, or that those relationships are anywhere near as fulfilling as people who actively choose to be somewhere out of a shared interest (and not a financial incentive). There are also great discussions on which type of work benefits most from team in person environments and which doesn't. Either way, I wholly despise the binary perspective on remote/office work as mostly being quite short sighted. The idea isn't we should pick one or the other, it's the desire for more flexibility on how we approach work hours.

Nathanba 4y ago
I may like my coworkers just fine but there are a thousand other reasons why being in the office or physically around them is not so fun. Smelling the smokers/smoke sometimes for hours when someone leaves the smoker room door open or the constant coughing or the ever so slightly audible music through their headphones may all seem like non-problems to the people who cause them but it's not so nice to be on the receiving end. I highly suspect that all these so called sociable people are often being sociable at a cost to others. And taking these random social breaks all the time is not productive, it doesn't matter how much they paint a picture of these amazing ideas that come out from randomly meeting someone in the hallway. Also I have never met someone who actually likes going to the office more than working from home so it might literally be people who have their own office at the office, aka: bosses, higher ups. I mean if I had my own entire office at work then I wouldn't mind so much either. I actually temporarily had my own office for a while and it felt great. Total peace and quiet and you can still talk to people in person when someone wants to. Then it changes and all the small problems reappear.
- wizofaus 4y ago
  > I have never met someone who actually likes going to the office more than working from home That would seem to be a comment on the number/type of people you meet more than anything. There are days I'm happy to WFH but I'm very glad I don't do it 5 days a week any more (and I used to ~18 years ago, as well as through much of 2020 and 2021).
  - Nathanba 4y ago
    I think we all simply want full control over whether we go into the office or not, on daily basis. I am not fully home office either but ultimately home office is superior because you have more control over your life.
    - wizofaus 4y ago
      Actually I have pretty poor self control working from home, the fridge is far too accessible, as are various other distractions around the house! The main advantage is that I can easily make myself a decent cup of coffee at home at minimal cost - machines at the office will provide free but invariably undrinkable coffee, or you can pay $5+ for a decent cup if you're prepared to ride the elevators to ground level and walk a few hundred metres. The only other reason to avoid the office is when the weather's crap (given I commute by bike).
      - earthling8118 4y ago
        The usage of "metres" also gives away that your office environment likely has more accessible things around it too. Anywhere I have had an in office job has had nothing but parking lots and road around it.
        wizofaus 4y ago
        I live in one of the least densely populated countries on the planet! I would think there'd be just as many tech jobs based in downtown office buildings in the US as there are here...(admittedly this the first job I've had with such an office, having been in same industry/city for >25 years).
        Gigachad 4y ago
        That’s terrible. In Australia, basically every office is surrounded by literally hundreds of options for food and coffee accessible by a short walk. Might make sense why some people have such different views of the office when the actual environment is vastly different.
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re-thc 4y ago
> This seems misleading It's not as in those that claim so prove they can't type, write out something coherent or use online tools. They don't know how to build relationships otherwise. It's the only way they can interact with people (in-person). > The idea isn't we should pick one or the other, it's the desire for more flexibility on how we approach work hours. The remote argument has always been do what you like vs the in-office argument has always been force everyone back. The problem with those preferring in-office is that they don't prefer to go to the office. They prefer to have someone (unwillingly) go to the office to sit next to them.

Nathanba 4y ago

I may like my coworkers just fine but there are a thousand other reasons why being in the office or physically around them is not so fun. Smelling the smokers/smoke sometimes for hours when someone leaves the smoker room door open or the constant coughing or the ever so slightly audible music through their headphones may all seem like non-problems to the people who cause them but it's not so nice to be on the receiving end. I highly suspect that all these so called sociable people are often being sociable at a cost to others. And taking these random social breaks all the time is not productive, it doesn't matter how much they paint a picture of these amazing ideas that come out from randomly meeting someone in the hallway. Also I have never met someone who actually likes going to the office more than working from home so it might literally be people who have their own office at the office, aka: bosses, higher ups. I mean if I had my own entire office at work then I wouldn't mind so much either. I actually temporarily had my own office for a while and it felt great. Total peace and quiet and you can still talk to people in person when someone wants to. Then it changes and all the small problems reappear.

wizofaus 4y ago
> I have never met someone who actually likes going to the office more than working from home That would seem to be a comment on the number/type of people you meet more than anything. There are days I'm happy to WFH but I'm very glad I don't do it 5 days a week any more (and I used to ~18 years ago, as well as through much of 2020 and 2021).
- Nathanba 4y ago
  I think we all simply want full control over whether we go into the office or not, on daily basis. I am not fully home office either but ultimately home office is superior because you have more control over your life.
  - wizofaus 4y ago
    Actually I have pretty poor self control working from home, the fridge is far too accessible, as are various other distractions around the house! The main advantage is that I can easily make myself a decent cup of coffee at home at minimal cost - machines at the office will provide free but invariably undrinkable coffee, or you can pay $5+ for a decent cup if you're prepared to ride the elevators to ground level and walk a few hundred metres. The only other reason to avoid the office is when the weather's crap (given I commute by bike).
    - earthling8118 4y ago
      The usage of "metres" also gives away that your office environment likely has more accessible things around it too. Anywhere I have had an in office job has had nothing but parking lots and road around it.
      - wizofaus 4y ago
        I live in one of the least densely populated countries on the planet! I would think there'd be just as many tech jobs based in downtown office buildings in the US as there are here...(admittedly this the first job I've had with such an office, having been in same industry/city for >25 years).
      - Gigachad 4y ago
        That’s terrible. In Australia, basically every office is surrounded by literally hundreds of options for food and coffee accessible by a short walk. Might make sense why some people have such different views of the office when the actual environment is vastly different.
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re-thc 4y ago

> This seems misleading It's not as in those that claim so prove they can't type, write out something coherent or use online tools. They don't know how to build relationships otherwise. It's the only way they can interact with people (in-person). > The idea isn't we should pick one or the other, it's the desire for more flexibility on how we approach work hours. The remote argument has always been do what you like vs the in-office argument has always been force everyone back. The problem with those preferring in-office is that they don't prefer to go to the office. They prefer to have someone (unwillingly) go to the office to sit next to them.