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Joel Spolsky: Lunch

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Re: Joel Spolsky: Lunch

#71

Post by ktsmith »

theoj wrote: post #41
InfinityX0 wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Synopsis: You hate your job, not your lunch. Quit your job and get a job that you love, and you'll inevitably end up loving the lunch you currently hate.

The job has nothing to do with it, it's about the co-workers. You're not doing your job at lunch, you are interacting with your co-workers.

I'm interacting with my co-workers while doing my job. I don't have any desire to also interact with most of them during my breaks, which includes lunch. Part of my lunch is to not just take a break from my work, but to take a break from the people I work with.

Re: Joel Spolsky: Lunch

#72

Post by tallanvor »

edw519 wrote: post #18

I have always hated this and probably always will. I have rarely eaten lunch with my work mates. Just a few reasons why: 1. I don't want to talk about work at lunch. 2. I want to get out of the office and get some fresh air. 3. I often want to get away from the very people that Joel suggests spending time with on my break. 4. I'm a "food outlier". I hate pizza, deli, and fast food. I won't eat it away from work. Why…

I really agree with #1. If you're talking about work at lunch, you're probably bitching. We all need time to bitch, but you get tired of it. And I don't care about what my coworkers' kids are doing, or what work they need to do around the house, or what sports they're watching, etc, etc.

I like to spend some of my lunches reading a book. It's relaxing, keeps me from thinking about work, and let's face it, when you get busy, reading for pleasure is often one of those things that gets pushed aside.

Re: Joel Spolsky: Lunch

#74

Post by levesque »

tomstuart wrote: post #7

I need a break at lunchtime. For me that means sitting quietly, spending some time away from the effort of conversation, catching up on reading or taking the opportunity to think about ideas that have been on the back burner. There goes my career at Fog Creek!

I see it differently. I sit alone all day, working on my projects by myself. Come dinner time, it is a welcome change to get to chat a little with my coworkers.

Ultimately, I'd say it depends a lot on who your coworkers are. If you enjoy your coworkers, you will enjoy lunchtime with them and it won't be a chore. On the other hand, if they annoy you the second they open their mouth...

Re: Joel Spolsky: Lunch

#75

Post by randallsquared »

alexlmiller wrote: post #29
jfruh wrote: post #16

Joel is obviously not aware of the differences between introverts and extroverts, which seems weird for someone who works in a field with a lot of introverts. I'm not down on his idea of eating lunch together - it's probably fun and productive. But if someone spots me eating lunch by myself while reading (a book, a magazine, on my phone, on my computer), it's not because I "don't like people," or, sadder, that I pret…

Yes, Joel is COMPLETELY unaware of the differences between introverts and extroverts. Except for the fact that he is an introvert and runs two companies filled with a substantial percentage of introverts. The reason that lunch here works so well is because the people we hire are fun and enjoyable people (even the introverts) so you don't have to pretend to like the other people at the lunch table, you actually do.

I don't eat by myself nearly every day because I dislike my co-workers -- I actually do like my co-workers, and my job would be a nightmare if I didn't. That doesn't mean that, come lunchtime, I won't nearly always take the opportunity to be by myself (conceptually, even though I'm still surrounded by people).

On your assertion that Joel is an introvert:

[...] but you'll also see a distressing number of loners eating by themselves.

Distressing? Really? I don't think an introvert would say that, and his later assertion that

Being in any clique, even if it's just the nerds, is vastly preferable than eating alone.

, and the "obligated to pretend" language, seems to indicate that he's an extrovert. I'm not sure if he's claimed to be an introvert, but if so, it's a pretty weird juxtaposition.

Re: Joel Spolsky: Lunch

#76

Post by andrewcooke »

bostonpete wrote: post #58
edw519 wrote: post #18

I have always hated this and probably always will. I have rarely eaten lunch with my work mates. Just a few reasons why: 1. I don't want to talk about work at lunch. 2. I want to get out of the office and get some fresh air. 3. I often want to get away from the very people that Joel suggests spending time with on my break. 4. I'm a "food outlier". I hate pizza, deli, and fast food. I won't eat it away from work. Why…

So in #8, you say you want to be able to bitch about your boss behind his back. But in #9 you call everyone else "phoneys" because they bitch about people only when they're not there.

which is one more reason he doesn't want to have lunch with them - because he would be pressured into being a phoney.

Re: Joel Spolsky: Lunch

#77

Post by hrktb »

InfinityX0 wrote: post #59
ionfish wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, because everyone who loves their job also loves sitting down to have lunch with their coworkers who they see for not less than seven hours a day five days a week. Personally I think this is an utterly ridiculous idea. Perhaps you love it. Perhaps many others do too. But perhaps also there are those of us who want to spend their lunchtimes not socialising but meditating; who want to be alone rather than with ot…

I'm not saying that you should eat lunch with your coworkers. I actually rarely do. It's just the case described by the original comment is one of someone who doesn't hate lunch , it's a case of someone who hates their job. There's a difference.

Point 4,5 and 6 where about lunch itself, and I agree woleheartly with them.

Eating a delicious launch and focusing on it sounds like heaven. Except eating it with your SO, everything else in the lunch category is down a rank in my opinion.

Re: Joel Spolsky: Lunch

#78

Post by kloncks »

For those that are against spending time eating lunch with your co-workers, the following Tina Fey quote comes to mind (paraphrased. not exact):

Never work with or hire someone who you wouldn't want to run into at 3am.

Re: Joel Spolsky: Lunch

#79

Post by ry0ohki »

brown9-2 wrote: post #43
ry0ohki wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most of the reasons you mentioned are exactly why the "free lunch" perk at a former job began to show me there really is no such thing as "no free lunch". I think Joel has the right idea if you want to inspire a cult-like work environment which is probably very good for getting things done, but I worry that these type of things also cause a group think, as you notice people start sharing the same opinions about every…

I think what you may have experienced is a different phenomenon related to peer pressuring people to agree with everyone else. I'm not sure that a group of people eating together regularly normally devolves into something that one would describe as "cult-like".

I describe it as "cult-like", because they are essentially taking the one independent choice you have during your work day (what, where and how to spend your lunch break) and making you conform to the "norm".

I think it's probably a great thing at FogCreek, because everyone is isolated in private offices all day, so forcing everyone to come together is probably a good idea. But I don't think it would be the best idea at all offices, especially those with open floor plans where lunch is the only time you can get some peace and quiet.

Re: Joel Spolsky: Lunch

#80

Post by jaysonelliot »

I rarely get time to eat lunch. When I do, it's a precious 30 or 60 minutes of solace where I can actually get away from people and enjoy some time to myself.

Why on earth would I want to spend it jammed shoulder to shoulder with people chewing and talking about work?

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