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Do you socialize with coworkers outside of work?

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?

  • Often

  • Occasionally

  • Rarely

  • Never


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That's quite a leap to not being buddies to dreading work. It's called being a professional, you do what you're paid to do. I'd guess you're a low level employee.

yeah... my coworkers are fine enough. I get along with them well at work and engage in the usual office chatter, but if I left this job, I doubt I'd keep in touch with any of them outside of professional networking. if they were classmates in school, they'd be the people that I chat with in class while waiting for the teacher, but don't ever hang out with outside of school.

but I've got plenty of friends outside of work, and tbh, I already feel stretched thin sometimes trying to maintain all of my existing friendships without adding a bunch of new ones into the mix just because we work together.

it helps that most of my coworkers are 40+, married, and have kids, whereas I'm a 33 year-old guy with no desire to ever have kids and spend most of my weekends drinking at some bar or another.
 
I'm looking at the poll now, do most people dread going in to work if you also don't bother socializing with anybody? I didn't think I'd be in the minority of actually liking people the people I work with enough to hang out with them on the outside.

I get along fine with most (not all) of my coworkers. I spend 9+ hours a day with them. That's more than enough to spend with anyone. When the 5pm whistle blows, I get the F out of there.

screen-shot-2011-08-05-at-6-10-37-pm1.png
 
During the holiday season there are at least 2 work parties at local drinking establishments. Occasionally, there will be other gatherings during the year but those have tailed off in the last few years.
 
I don't socialize with any of my current co-workers. I just don't have anything in common with them, other than work. And I don't want to hear about work when I'm not there.

On the other hand, I met my wife at work. And I still hang out with a few people I used to work with that are no longer with the company.
 
That's quite a leap to not being buddies to dreading work. It's called being a professional, you do what you're paid to do. I'd guess you're a low level employee.

I get along fine with most (not all) of my coworkers. I spend 9+ hours a day with them. That's more than enough to spend with anyone. When the 5pm whistle blows, I get the F out of there.

screen-shot-2011-08-05-at-6-10-37-pm1.png

That's fine, and I'm sure I'd feel different if I had some sort of family to bother with, but I don't. Just from the sounds of some of the responses, they wouldn't even say "hi" to a coworker on the street they're so sick of them.
 
i've always wondered this about others and their coworkers:

do you guys call/refer to your coworkers by their last names, like on tv?

"hey, sipowicz!"

"get greene in here, stat!"

"dinozzo, what are you doing?"

?
 
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My attitude was always, "Hey, I gotta work with youse assholes, I don't have to spend my free time with you too."

HOWEVER, there have been a few times when I was "after work" friends with a few of my co-workers...but it was rare.
 
I moved to a new city in june 2014, leaving behind longterm friends and family. I moved in with my gf so I already had a few friends.

But I quickly realised I had to make new friends outside of those so I met some cool folks here at my new work.

We mostly go snowboarding every other weekends and go grab some beers after that.

Most of my coworkers are complete PITA and annoying as hell but some are really laidback and cool with the same interests so it was easy.

And yeah, we call us by tour last names lol
 
no. and i don't think i would. one is a devil worshipper, the other is a bit dopey/naive and i don't think i'd get on with him on that basis, another is very cute but a tee-total and non-partier and a bit of a bible-thumper, and another is ok, but despite being smart is too into PUA and other related shit. I know they may judge me, but meh, i'm not bothered if they do....they're not close nor family, nor real friends, so meh...
 
Hell no.
Woman from India even tries to stalk me in shopping malls.
Made sure I track all events and tell my boss.

Glad I did because she tried to start crap with me and Hr told me to have a chat with them then I let my boss have a chat with HR.

India woman now walks around with tail between her legs at work.
 
I am a paralegal. I'll have a drink with one of the attorneys after work (not my supervising atty) a couple days a week. We knock back a scotch or two or have a couple beers and then we leave by 6pm or so to go home to the wives.
Occasionally a group of support staff will walk to a restaurant/bar near us for happy hour after work and I'll tag along.
Then there's the Xmas party in which everyone is fucked up; the bosses, support staff, spouses... Our firm manages to get banned from somewhere every other xmas it seems 🙂

That's enough for me.
 
I'm quite surprised by the responses.

i've always wondered this about others and their coworkers:

do you guys call/refer to your coworkers by their last names, like on tv?

"hey, sipowicz!"

"get greene in here, stat!"

"dinozzo, what are you doing?"

?

At my work we do, mainly because there are so many people with the same first names.
 
i've always wondered this about others and their coworkers:

do you guys call/refer to your coworkers by their last names, like on tv?

"hey, sipowicz!"

"get greene in here, stat!"

"dinozzo, what are you doing?"

?

it's all first names here.

I've found that teachers almost universally only refer to each other by their last name, though.
 
I have a few friends from work, unfortunately since I work out of a ticketing queue as an escalation point, I've pissed off too many of them. Out of a building of 400 people, I go and do stuff occasionally with about 8.
 
I hang out with some of them from time to time. While we're all a bit different, we're mostly a fairly relaxed bunch, which is quite helpful. I keep trying to convince them that we should have a team karaoke night! 😛
 
it's all first names here.

I've found that teachers almost universally only refer to each other by their last name, though.

i've asked friends that are teachers about this, too. not just the last name but always with the 'Mr.' or 'Ms.' [lastname]. they said it was to stay consistent for when they're around the kids / students.
 
I have a few friends from work, unfortunately since I work out of a ticketing queue as an escalation point, I've pissed off too many of them. Out of a building of 400 people, I go and do stuff occasionally with about 8.

that's funny... that's pretty much the most hated department in my company too, after Project Management.
 
Nope.
I skip company events too -- which I get looked down upon for.

I spend more time here, with these people, than my wife and kids. If I have "free time" I'm not going to spend it with them. I'm going to spend it with people of my choosing.

I'm the same way. If Christmas parties, picnics, etc. were on company grounds during company time, I generally would go. Offsite and after hours? No way, and I was pressured and looked down upon because of it. My last company was big on "getting people out of their comfort zone" -- ie, making awkward forced socialization and team building scenarios. It was a complete waste of my time and the company's money. I couldn't give three shits about Bob from accounting and getting to know him didn't help me with my job.
 
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I know pretty much everyone here who rides (motorcycles) and I've gone riding with a few of them on a few different occasions. Went to a Chargers game earlier in the season with another guy I work with, he hooked me up with season ticket holder seats for less than face value.
 
I'm looking at the poll now, do most people dread going in to work if you also don't bother socializing with anybody? I didn't think I'd be in the minority of actually liking people the people I work with enough to hang out with them on the outside.

Well, like I said, it depends on how you define "socialize" in this case. If the poll was directed more toward organized company events outside of work hours, then I wouldn't go and didn't care who liked it. Yeah, I believe I was looked down upon and it was held against me, but I didn't really care what most of those shallow, air-headed managers thought.

If you're talking just day-to-day socializing in the office, then of course I would. I think most people would -- you just don't seal yourself in your office for 8 hours until it is time to go home. I made friends at each company I worked with and while at work, would eat lunch with them, talk to them, etc.
 
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