Joel Spolsky: Lunch
I have always hated this and probably always will.  I have rarely eaten lunch with my work mates.  Just a few reasons why:1. I don't want to talk about work at lunch.2. I want to get out of the office and get some fresh air.3. I often want to get away from the very people that Joel suggests spending time with on my break.4. I'm a "food outlier".  I hate pizza, deli, and fast food.  I won't eat it away from work.  Why should I eat it there?5. Sometimes I want a beer with my lunch.6. Sometimes I just want to close my eyes for 5 minutes.7. If my work mates are talking about something other than work, I'm probably not interested.  I'd rather chew razor blades than talk about traffic, weather, casino gambling, baseball, real estate taxes, gun control, politics, or Dancing with the Stars.  I'd rather shoot myself than hear anything about their children.8. If I am going to talk about work, I will want to bitch about the boss.  Tough to do if he/she is there.9. If I am going to talk about work, I want everyone else to talk freely and openly.  This never happens.  They will bitch about anyone else if they're not there, but when we're all together, they act like everything is just peachy.  Phoneys.10. "Enforced association" is phoney.  I'd rather just make my own friends at work or out of work.  So what if it appears to be a clique?  All that means is that we are humans acting naturally.