A friend works at the American Library in Paris- like the whole city, it seems to be a clash of cultures around every corner, or bookshelf- and once she told me about a new co-worker who was trying to arrange potlucks and such. The other workers went along with it but found it annoying. For most of them, this was work and their lives were separate.

In my limited experiences, I've found that for Americans- in our highly mobile, isolated, highly career/work-centered lives- potlucks and such are suppose to be good for company morale. But does this say that we just don't have lives, so the company needs to provide them for us? When did drama become a good thing at work? Even if I don't have a life, when did I say I wanted the company to provide one for me? Sure friends at work is nice, but drama -not so much. I prefer work being work, and my life -uneventful as it is- to be my own.