I am surprised how much of this hit home! I would have assumed that although the same age as these people that I’d somehow not be able to relate since I was an

I am surprised how much of this hit home! I would have assumed that although the same age as these people that I’d somehow not be able to relate since I was an overworking software engineer at the time. Things like finishing a Masters degree after work, having places to go where you know you’d run into people you knew, physical media all rung true. One thing that seemed to be missed though was that the downside of not having the technology to enable work from home meant the development of the “late at the office” culture. Think of the xkcd comic with the sword fighting while compiling. Those sorts of silly things were routine after, say, 6pm in an office. Now if you need to work after hours you do it from home, where your day may have started anyway. Twenty years ago you and some colleagues would stay in the office, order some food, play some music on someone’s speakers, take occasional breaks for a game or even a nap and keep plowing through work until 11pm or even later. Also “on call” was still a thing, but it meant a phone call or page and then you physically go to the office to solve the problem!