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Startups bet that lonely freelancers crave company

bloomberg.com

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Re: Startups bet that lonely freelancers crave company

#71

Post by veggieburglar »

bitL wrote: post #25
spurdoman77 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I throw parties etc. Workplace has totally different social point. I can do all that and have a workplace.

Probability of finding colleagues matching your interests and personality in a random workplace is very low and even if you are lucky, such situations usually don't last long.

How do you figure this? Maybe if you work in a field that you don't personally care about at all, but I have a specific interest in my field of employment, which is why I work in this industry to begin with. My coworkers also share that interest, and I find that gives us common ground which makes it easier to bond in other ways. I also noticed that you edited your snarky comment out of your original response, which basically said that it is sad and pathetic to expect to have some sort of personal connection with your coworkers. Maybe you should have thought that one out...

Re: Startups bet that lonely freelancers crave company

#72

Post by veggieburglar »

jonfw wrote: post #57
dntbnmpls wrote: post #36

If this is what startups are working on and if this is startup news, then it just might mean the tech world is awash in too much money with too few ideas. Or the news has to sell ads and has publish something. I wonder where Brady will end up? Oh that's sports "news". Also, I'm willing to bet more 9-5 workers crave privacy and alone time than freelancers want company. Besides, if you crave company, isn't there someth…

I don't understand the claim that work relationships are inherently non-personal or inauthentic. I have legitimately good friends at work who do favors for each other, look out for each other, hang out outside of work sometimes, etc. I keep in touch with friends from past jobs. We spend a very large percentage of waking hours at work and see a lot of faces. I really enjoy being friendly with those people and having l…

Yes, I have found that this approach makes the workplace much more enjoyable. It feels like many HN commenters hate their work, workplace, coworkers, etc. This mindset seems to be more problematic than the actual working situation itself. Interacting with people is hard but necessary.

Re: Startups bet that lonely freelancers crave company

#73

Post by dntbnmpls »

jonfw wrote: post #57
dntbnmpls wrote: post #36

If this is what startups are working on and if this is startup news, then it just might mean the tech world is awash in too much money with too few ideas. Or the news has to sell ads and has publish something. I wonder where Brady will end up? Oh that's sports "news". Also, I'm willing to bet more 9-5 workers crave privacy and alone time than freelancers want company. Besides, if you crave company, isn't there someth…

I don't understand the claim that work relationships are inherently non-personal or inauthentic. I have legitimately good friends at work who do favors for each other, look out for each other, hang out outside of work sometimes, etc. I keep in touch with friends from past jobs. We spend a very large percentage of waking hours at work and see a lot of faces. I really enjoy being friendly with those people and having l…

> I don't understand the claim that work relationships are inherently non-personal or inauthentic.

Didn't say that. I said it's pathetic for people who crave company to seek it at work.

> I really enjoy being friendly with those people and having legitimate, authentic, relationships with them.

Yes, that's called being a professional. I hope you are friendly to strangers, customers, etc too, but aren't desperately trying to use them for company because you are lonely.

Re: Startups bet that lonely freelancers crave company

#74

Post by opportune »

Noughmad wrote: post #29
CGamesPlay wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the FAANG companies set any precedent, this isn’t really true.

Partially, but for those there's another catch. They have the campuses with game rooms, food, daycare, etc. all in order for you to spend as much time there as possible. They are literally building company towns.

This is also really overplayed.

I know many people who work at big tech companies and I've spent some time at a megacorp or two in my day. The on-campus amenities may keep you at work longer (willingly!) but seem pretty orthogonal to how much time people really spend working. Low-amenity Amazon has long hours, High-amenity Google has pretty normal/reasonable hours, high-amenity Facebook has high-ish hours, low-amenity Microsoft has normal/reasonable hours.

Re: Startups bet that lonely freelancers crave company

#75

Post by dkdk8283 »

jackcosgrove wrote: post #43
ivanhoe wrote: post #34

I thought that these type of arguments are stupid, like why would I need to hang out with people in an office, I've got my buddies for that after work. Later I moved to another country where I knew no one beside my wife, and then I realized that mingling with office crowd is actually the easiest way to expand your social circle when you're in a new environment. Yes, you can do that on conferences or in a gym or clubs…

Even if you don't talk to others, being around people is very comforting. It meets a basic need we have as humans.

Not all humans have that need. I work remote and 100% enjoy being alone. I have everything I need and rarely have to leave my house.

Re: Startups bet that lonely freelancers crave company

#76

Post by noirbot »

opportune wrote: post #74
Noughmad wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Partially, but for those there's another catch. They have the campuses with game rooms, food, daycare, etc. all in order for you to spend as much time there as possible. They are literally building company towns.

This is also really overplayed. I know many people who work at big tech companies and I've spent some time at a megacorp or two in my day. The on-campus amenities may keep you at work longer (willingly!) but seem pretty orthogonal to how much time people really spend working. Low-amenity Amazon has long hours, High-amenity Google has pretty normal/reasonable hours, high-amenity Facebook has high-ish hours, low-amenit…

Yea, I just see it as an added benefit that may or may not have value to me. My current job has a happy-hour on Fridays with beer/snacks, but I'm usually not around late enough in the day to attend. That said, once a month or so, it's a free meal and a couple drinks, so it's an extra $10-20 a month I get to save.

Things like free food are gimmicky, but it's also a non-trivial financial and time benefit to not have to prep a fresh meal a few days a week. I'd take a small salary cut to work somewhere where I got a healthy breakfast/lunch every day for free. It's only $100 or so in actual food cost savings, but it's a lot of mental overhead that you get to pass on. Lot less stress on my life to make sure I prep enough for the week, and left to myself, I may not pick as healthy of food as they'd prep for me.

Re: Startups bet that lonely freelancers crave company

#77

Post by texasbigdata »

chasd00 wrote: post #48
LeonM wrote: post #27

I'm in a co-working space, and the primary reason I took it was loneliness. But I think that, for me, a social app wouldn't be able to replace a physical work space. It's not just the interaction with co-workers, but also the separation of work and home. The routine of riding my bike to and from the office is like a mental barrier, helping me to switch between work and leisure. By going to my office, I effectively sw…

i work from home and get a "day pass" at a coworking spot from time to time (Common Desk in Dallas). After a while, wfh feels like being on house arrest. I head over to the co-working location for the commotion and activity honestly. Everyone is still working and so it's not like a social event but I need to be around other humans while at work from time to time. Plus, one time I met these kids (likely right out of c…

I have a similar setup (also at common desk! heyo....although with silicon valley bank and Walmart IT housing corporate offices at CD it's perhaps less science fair-y that it used to be). I use it on the weekend and once to maybe twice a week on WFH days. It's nice to have a place to sit and work.
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