[woodruffw]

Where’s the force? Nobody is required to have lunch with me; nobody is required to respond to random off-topic messages on chat applications.

We’re taking about the thing that each of us spends 1/3 of our weekdays doing. The majority of our waking hours. It’s one of the largest aspects of all our lives, and is fundamentally derived from the outcomes of very recent political battles over the roles of individual laborers.

I believe that we owe it to ourselves and, as a basic matter of respect, to our coworkers, to have important discussions. If you don’t want that for yourself, then you can stick to sports and weather. That’s fine too!

[_8j50]

Everything has a place. Use personal chat systems and have lunch with people outside of work. I have been asked to participate in things I disagreed with when I joined a new company for example and I couldn't refuse because that might mess up my reputation before I could prove myself. I have also worked jobs where coworkers argued and talked about religion and racial things and I was not senior and I was new and I had no desire to participate in their discussion yet I had no choice but to sit in the same room with them and listen to deeply offending and hurtful things. I do not get paid to hear your opinions about trump or minorities or whatever.

Even after working at a place for years, it is very disheartening when people discuss bs that affects me personally yet if I even say anything it would be things that will offend them deeply.

Off work I could speak my mind and refuse to paricipate in offwork activities but during work that declined chat request might offend you or you might see it as not supporting you or your cause.

If I decline a request to chat about abortion for example, will you see it as a sign of my not supporting you? In that case it might affect how well you work with me? Then what? The person that has the upperhand in the power dynamic speaks and the other people agree?

[aahortwwy]

> If you don’t want that for yourself, then you can stick to sports and weather. That’s fine too!

If I had a private office and didn't have to block out background conversation with noise-cancelling headphones and loud music that would be fine, yeah.

Happy I can mainly work from home nowadays.

[woodruffw]

> If I had a private office and didn't have to block out background conversation with noise-cancelling headphones and loud music that would be fine, yeah.

These sound like the kinds of employee privileges you’d like to negotiate for at work, ideally with multiple other coworkers backing you. The kind of thing that would ideally come from multiple discussions, some of which would ultimately boil down to your and your employer’s obligations. Let’s hope that won’t be too political for your taste, should you decide to stop working from home!

[aahortwwy]

The union I was in most recently had dedicated time for discussing and voting on matters important to members, and scheduled negotiations between our chosen representatives and our employer.

I preferred that to being distracted at work.

[woodruffw]

Me too; I also don’t like to be distracted.

And I mean this genuinely: it’s wonderful that you have a Union that you can use for those purposes. Most workers in the US, particularly tech workers, don’t. The fact that you do is a testament to the effectiveness of politics in the workplace.