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   Sean Kleefeld (skleefeld@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 22-Jun-2024 10:22:30 JST Sean Kleefeld

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   Should I just chalk things up to "these kids today" or am I completely out of touch with whatever workplace mores are 'standard' now? Is that something I'll have to actively adjust in order to stay work-relevant for another decade and a half until I retire (or am forced out of the workplace because of thinly disguised ageism)?

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     Sean Kleefeld (skleefeld@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 22-Jun-2024 10:22:31 JST Sean Kleefeld

     in reply to

     What I don't know is how much of my attitude there is from an additional 15+ years of real life experiences versus how much is tied to the specific eras those experiences were in. Is the nature of work and work-friendships fundamentally different now than it was 20 years ago?

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     Sean Kleefeld (skleefeld@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 22-Jun-2024 10:22:31 JST Sean Kleefeld

     in reply to

     Don't get me wrong; I do like my co-workers. I think we've got a solid, friendly team. But I have no desire to just hang out with them outside of work. Is that a generational thing? Is that a brow-beaten-by-capitalism-for-the-past-30-years thing? Is that learned detachment from anything work related? I don't really know.

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     Sean Kleefeld (skleefeld@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 22-Jun-2024 10:22:31 JST Sean Kleefeld

     in reply to

     They've shared a few photos via our work chat. (Which several them willing set up on their phones.) Of the eight of them in the pictures, I've worked directly with and am friendly with all of them, but I've only met one in person... and that was at a work conference.

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     Sean Kleefeld (skleefeld@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 22-Jun-2024 10:22:31 JST Sean Kleefeld

     in reply to

     I'm sure it doesn't help that I'm naturally more introverted to begin with. I've been perfectly content working from home the past four years with only VERY occasional in-person interactions with anyone besides my wife.

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     Sean Kleefeld (skleefeld@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 22-Jun-2024 10:22:32 JST Sean Kleefeld

     Prior to COVID, my employer had two offices in N America: one in Chicago and one in Toronto. So even though the entire company has been officially remote since 2020, there's still significant worker representation in those two areas. This week, two of my Chicago-area colleagues elected to take a road trip to Toronto just to see folks. Nothing work related, just "Hey, let's meet up and hang for a few days."

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     Sean Kleefeld (skleefeld@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 22-Jun-2024 10:22:32 JST Sean Kleefeld

     in reply to

     I'm not sure how to feel about this. I mean, I'm glad they all get along that well. Thrilled, in fact! But I learned very much the hard way that work friends, by and large, don't make for great friendships outside of work. The lines get too blurry and it's super easy to inadvertently let that casualness of friendship into the work setting.

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     Sean Kleefeld (skleefeld@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 22-Jun-2024 10:46:15 JST Sean Kleefeld

     • (on holiday) Multiverse Mike

     @multiverseofbadness Well, I'll definitely take solace in the fact that it's not a broad cultural shift I'll need to adjust to! Much easier to run with "Sean's just a grumpy old bastard!" I should be able to lean into that! 🙃