4 ms·

I totally agree with OP. My work sometimes has happy hours, and despite them being obviously optional I feel pressured to go to at least half of them so that I

by PhrosTT 14y ago

I totally agree with OP. My work sometimes has happy hours, and despite them being obviously optional I feel pressured to go to at least half of them so that I'm not judged. Sure you can say the events and outings are optional but what happens to people who routinely don't go. They become less close with coworkers and this could hurt them career wise. I have no interest in eating lunch with my team every day. I see them for the OTHER 7 hours a day. Why can't I get a break? Workplaces really should be fun and social on the clock. But if I'm not on the clock I'd rather be with my other friends. Don't cram friendship down my throat like some freshmen dorm. I'll drink with the people I want to. And avoid smalltalk with those I don't.

mhurron 14y ago
Absolutely all of this. I don't want to work at a company that pretends it's a family. I don't want them to make me be friends. Work is a necessary evil in peoples lives. We all like to eat and have a place to live and this takes money, hence work, but it is still an evil. It takes the majority of your day and the majority of your life away from doing things you want to do and people you want to do them with. I would much rather be at a company that realizes this and doesn't try to force itself on you pretending that it is some great thing that it is not.
- herval 14y ago
  If you don't want to do your work nor like the people you work with, you should really switch jobs... That said, I agree that companies should not try to creep in weekends and evenings. Having a life outside work is healthy and should be incentivized by every company. But really, work is NOT a "necessary evil" for me...
  - mhurron 14y ago
    > If you don't want to do your work nor like the people you work with, you should really switch jobs Which is not what I said. Work is what you have to do to enable you to do what yo want to do, but in that process it takes time (a lot of time) away from being able to do what you want to do. No one likes every part of their job, but you have to do those parts along with what you do like because it is part of you job, it is the work you have to do. No job lets you do everything you want to do in life. Co-workers are a random group of people that have been brought together on some common goal (the job). If everyone conducts themselves like adults you will probably be able to get along with them, but you will not like every last one of them. > work is NOT a "necessary evil" for me Really? What happens if you don't go to work anymore? What happens if you wake up and say, "You know what, I would like to spend the next month with my wife traveling around [insert area of the world here]?" What happens if you wake up and say "you know what, I don't really feel like working on X (your job) for a bit, I want to try this neat new thing that has nothing to do with it?" Welcome to the necessary evil. Work is what you have to do, it takes away from all the other things you want to do.
    - herval 14y ago
      > What happens if you don't go to work anymore? I freak out and have to urgently find another thing to work on. Like, URGENTLY. > What happens if you wake up and say, "You know what, I would like to spend the next month with my wife traveling around [insert area of the world here]?" Work doesn't disallow that - I can simply work and travel at the same time, as I've done for a couple of years already (with my wife - and dog) ps.: I'm not a workaholic by a very, very far distance. I just LIKE what I do and think it adds a lot of meaning to my existence (plus money of course) - I'd say it's a "necessary good" ;-)

by PhrosTT 14y ago

mhurron 14y ago

Absolutely all of this. I don't want to work at a company that pretends it's a family. I don't want them to make me be friends. Work is a necessary evil in peoples lives. We all like to eat and have a place to live and this takes money, hence work, but it is still an evil. It takes the majority of your day and the majority of your life away from doing things you want to do and people you want to do them with. I would much rather be at a company that realizes this and doesn't try to force itself on you pretending that it is some great thing that it is not.

herval 14y ago
If you don't want to do your work nor like the people you work with, you should really switch jobs... That said, I agree that companies should not try to creep in weekends and evenings. Having a life outside work is healthy and should be incentivized by every company. But really, work is NOT a "necessary evil" for me...
- mhurron 14y ago
  > If you don't want to do your work nor like the people you work with, you should really switch jobs Which is not what I said. Work is what you have to do to enable you to do what yo want to do, but in that process it takes time (a lot of time) away from being able to do what you want to do. No one likes every part of their job, but you have to do those parts along with what you do like because it is part of you job, it is the work you have to do. No job lets you do everything you want to do in life. Co-workers are a random group of people that have been brought together on some common goal (the job). If everyone conducts themselves like adults you will probably be able to get along with them, but you will not like every last one of them. > work is NOT a "necessary evil" for me Really? What happens if you don't go to work anymore? What happens if you wake up and say, "You know what, I would like to spend the next month with my wife traveling around [insert area of the world here]?" What happens if you wake up and say "you know what, I don't really feel like working on X (your job) for a bit, I want to try this neat new thing that has nothing to do with it?" Welcome to the necessary evil. Work is what you have to do, it takes away from all the other things you want to do.
  - herval 14y ago
    > What happens if you don't go to work anymore? I freak out and have to urgently find another thing to work on. Like, URGENTLY. > What happens if you wake up and say, "You know what, I would like to spend the next month with my wife traveling around [insert area of the world here]?" Work doesn't disallow that - I can simply work and travel at the same time, as I've done for a couple of years already (with my wife - and dog) ps.: I'm not a workaholic by a very, very far distance. I just LIKE what I do and think it adds a lot of meaning to my existence (plus money of course) - I'd say it's a "necessary good" ;-)