I’m genuinely asking, and will break down my thoughts about some observations from this sub. I feel as though I’ve seen a lot of content on this sub lately about coworker interactions and relationships that are counterproductive to what I understand to be the purpose of anti work. Taken from the FAQ tab of this very sub and put simply, we are encouraged to form personal relationships with coworkers, which can then be used to effect change through solidarity. It seems that there are quite a few people on this sub who can’t be bothered to even be polite and are projecting other gripes with society with an anti work lens. For example, no I don’t particularly care about little Tommy’s baseball game, but if listening to my colleague talk about it cements comradery, then I can smile and nod through it. I think a strong negative emotional reaction to such an interaction is antisocial, not anti work. Additionally, I now have a potential talking point to promote workplace solidarity! It’s too bad you had to work 60hrs this week and miss all of Tommy’s games! Maybe we should organize so this doesn’t happen anymore!! This is obviously a VERY SIMPLE example, just wanted to elaborate on my thought process.
What I’m not saying is that you have to besties with every colleague. Use your discretion and enforce boundaries as needed. Figure out who the busy bodies, brown nosers and and gossips are, and interact with them sparingly and carefully. I just don’t think that an expectation of no social relationships at work is reasonable or anti work. I’ve often been surprised by the common ground I’ve been able to establish with coworkers simply through polite water cooler chat. It’s entirely possible my perception has been skewed by algorithm or personal bias, but I do think there might be a worthwhile conversation to be had here. I’m happy to elaborate or discuss anything, so thoughts?