Turning Down Work Related Events
Modern day work interactions are enough of a minefield already without tossing in the grenades of after hours social interaction as well.
It’s already difficult enough as a progressive software engineer working in the Grand Game without having to deal with those individuals that feel somehow that we should all be best friends and get along like a data centre on fire.
Some interactions at work, although they cannot be avoided, can have their effects mitigated with a little forward planning.
For example, when having to meet a HR droid it can be done online rather than in person which allows you time to collect your thoughts, not be intimidated by their physical presence or cologne, not have to pretend to be baseline normal and not a perceived sociopath¹, or have to maintain eye contact with someone who most likely did a course on it and has the laminated certificate pinned to their cubicle wall.
Similarly with management, avoiding direct 1–1 meetings and seeking strength through numerical superiority is always a solid strategy. Technical decisions can be properly pushed through and kept rightfully out of management control, distractions can be minimised (minimising waffle about agile related methodologies for instance), and the meetings themselves kept as short as possible thus wasting less time.
