[grolingor]

Your hypothesis that the vast majority of senior employees would have reacted negatively is a projection of your own isolated lifestyle. You yourself noted “I literally developed depression and anxiety from isolation” which is more reflective of your own social issues than it is a representative experience of a healthy lifestyle.

Relatedly the most successful engineers in my social network are those who have worked remote most or all of their careers. It’s not a coincidence that they have more fulfilling social lives and earn more money, when they are able to spend more time with their spouse/kids, learn skills on their own, and switch to higher paying jobs that are not location-bound.

Yes, eating together is great for forming social bonds. A great many of us senior engineers (in my opinion the actual vast silent majority) are able to form social bonds that improve productivity, without needing to go to an office daycare to make fake forced friends.