I can easily go have fun with people outside of work, so I have no incentive to put up with the annoying parts of office work just to get to interact with people.
>But if you do have to work, slogging away in a common place with friends is more compelling than sitting behind a computer.
Not for me. When it comes to work, I would rather sit behind a computer at home and talk with my friends on another computer at the same time than sit behind a computer at an office and talk with my friends there in person.
I like all the people I work with and have know them all for 10+ years, but I would never spend time with them outside of work. The idea of conflating my private and public lives is anathema to me.
Obviously, if you didn't have to work, you wouldn't work just to see office mates.
But if you do have to work, slogging away in a common place with friends is more compelling than sitting behind a computer.