Home vs Social Life

Here's a subject that I've been trying to deal with for a while. With having three kids, it's a lot more one sided than you would think. haha. The reason for this random blog is because of a conversation at work, not just tonight but on numerous occasions with different people. That conversation had to do with social gathering with co-workers outside of work.

I've always believed in social gatherings outside of work to be fun and beneficial. For one, sometimes it's easier to coordinate social time with coworkers since you have the same schedule.  It's a good way to relax with your co-workers in non-work, non-serious atmosphere and get to know them on a personal level. In turn this leads to a better work environment, well in most cases.

The other side of the argument is that why would you want to spend time with outside of work when you already spend over 40 hours a week with. Why would they spend time away from their family to be with people they see all the time. Fair enough. It makes sense because ya, depending on what the social event is, you could be.

I guess this is where the whole friends and co-worker line is drawn and how sometimes you blends both of them together when really they are separate. A co-worker is someone that you are forced to work with because you have similar/same job and that relationship in strictly within work. A friend is someone that you have a relationship beyond work. Someone that you are willing to make time to have a relationship outside of work with. Hearing statements like "all people do outside of work together is talk about work" or "it's pretty sad when your wedding consists of a lot of your co-workers"kind of irks me. Because for someone like me who did not grow up in this area, most of my friends are people that I do or have worked with. And I don't see anything wrong with this since you do have something in common, work, and it is easy to get to know the other person because you have time to do it.

It's an on-going discussion that I have with myself. The more I talk to people at my work the more it seems like they side with the "I spend enough time with everyone at work" mentality. I also think that it may be the situation that we're in compared to my last job.

1) current job - mostly people with families and who all live in different cities.

2) last job - mainly people without families (ie. kids) and who live within in the same city.

I did think to myself with the last conversation I had with a co-worker is that maybe I'm thinking of it wrong. Maybe I'm a bad husband and father for wanting to partake in social gatherings. Do people that do spend time away from their family outside of work love their family less?

I guess it all comes down to the person and what they believe. Sorry for wasting your time with this silly non-sense. I don't even know who still reads anymore. Feel free to comment with your thoughts.