I go in once a week and quite often the whole day is literally socialising. I do absolutely no work on those days.

Is this a good thing, bad thing, indifferent?

I think a big part of many people’s contempt for their jobs comes from the sense that it’s an endless, thankless stream of tickets and demands. Seeing people in person, remembering they’re human, can help make the rest of the job more pleasant. A day of socializing might make the other four days of remote work more productive, increase job satisfaction, increase retention.

What we do is have the team come in the HQ city once every 6 months for a week and have lunches and whatnot.

Personally I like a clear separation between work and home. If I'm just going to be socialising then I want it to be on my own terms. I'd rather just go for a walk than spend all day in an office with people I don't really like that much. If I'm going to be working then I want to be productive. I like to finish the day feeling like I've done something.

But perhaps the question is whether it's good for the company or for society as whole. That's a much more difficult question but I suspect that it is good for society and possibly the company too. It's normal to not like all aspects of society but it's still better than the alternative.

Shit if it’s just about that then just move the office to local bar. I promise I’ll socialize a lot better with you lamos if I’ve had a few drinks.

My team isn't in my office and people usually aren't super social. It's a bit of a waste of time here. I wish it was like yours.