The problem is that sacrificing the optics of "professionalism" is a dual edged sword. The norms of professionalism are rightly considered arbitrary, but which

The problem is that sacrificing the optics of "professionalism" is a dual edged sword. The norms of professionalism are rightly considered arbitrary, but which norms are considered "professionalism" and which are "things people don't do" is not a universal constant. I really hope that the tech scene can hold on to the fun parts of what makes it special, while getting rid of terrible things like this. How do we as people, teams, businesses, industries, etc decide which norms of "professionalism" are OK to break. The interviewer asking for a date is pretty obvious to almost all of us (except that interviewer apparently), but how do we navigate the more middle ground? One person's "fun part" is another person's reason to feel excluded. Alcohol at the office Friday afternoon is traditionally unprofessional but norms in tech mean it's largely accepted here, but your post takes issue with it. It's gonna be a little bit ugly, especially in a culture that's tightly wound about policing eachother's behaviors. OR It's going to be a slightly more agreeable set of arbitrary norms.