I don't want an app - I like my coworkers and enjoy having lunch with them. It's the other, pleasant part of work : social interactions with people I know. They are also sometimes necessary, ie you will sometimes solve problems more efficiently over lunch/coffee than by email / Skype.

Furthermore, not everyone has a 1h+ commute to the office and lives in an expensive area - I know plenty of people with short commutes.

In the end, it's not 'all remote' or 'all office', we're different people in different conditions. There has to be room for everyone.

The point of the person you are replying to is why do you need this social interaction with people you barely know (because be honest, you don’t really know these people) versus social interaction with your friends?

Because if I'm honest, I do know them. I've been working for several years at the same place, have made friends, had lunch/dinner/beers/coffees, been to weddings, etc. Some of them are not friends, but I am happy to see them, just like I enjoy talking to my butcher or fruit seller.

Maybe it's an age/cultural thing, but I'm going to spend quite a bit of time working, so I'd rather do it with people I like. Inevitably, because we like each other, we're happy to see each other, hence the office is a good place to go to. And if I don't know them yet, there's no reason why I shouldn't meet anyone interesting at the office.

I also enjoy talking about my work with like minded people : not my friends, but co-workers. The best conversations happen over beers, coffees, meals, etc which require physical interactions.

Fair enough, I guess it’s just different for everybody. I personally prefer to get my job done as quickly as possible (which is easier without all those interactions) so that I can have the time to go spent it with the people of my choosing and not people that just happens to be next to me.

Agreed - it's personal.

I'll add that I enjoy moving people from 'sitting next to me' to 'known', and given that there are not that many people sitting next to me, and I have a fixed office plan (always the same people next to me), it works for me. I would not enjoy going to the office if I wasn't around the same people/there wasn't at least a bit of stability. We didn't mention this : if your company has a flexible floor plan, indeed, then you won't know your co-workers!

It probably depends on the kind of job you do as well : a significant portion of my job is spent talking to people anyway, and I'd rather make it as pleasant as possible. If it means getting to know people, then I'm quite happy to do so.

Isn't meetup.com a thing worldwide?

Also, the dating app Bumble has an option for friendships, and in a pinch tinder itself works if you're super clear about your goals

I’ve been thinking about exactly this!

I really miss the ‘low effort’ social interactions that in-office work provides. “Want to get lunch?” is one of those.

Question: does this app already exist? Can I facilitate this in my life without building the app (easy part) and building a significant user base (hard part)?

Yeah I think bumble has a feature like that. Just for finding friends and such.

I fully understand this perspective and agree remote work should be the de facto norm. Remote works benefits on a productivity and environmental level do seem to outweigh the social benefits. I guess I was just commenting how much I miss organic interaction with like-minded smart people in the office, and how much duller my days have gotten without that.

Coworking is pretty good for this, and going to be amazing post-pandemic.

The problem you'll find, I think, is that many people will try to use "Tinder for lunch" as if it were just tinder.

Bumble BFF exists and works fine in my experience

Yes, lets make finding casual acquaintances as awful as online dating, that's the ticket!