and this is exactly why you will be seen as disposable and the first to go when layoffs happen.

personal relationships are very important, arguably more important that your raw performance.

Hardly helpful when your company's headcount exceeds Dunbar's Number by 100x

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunbar%27s_number

Unless you get caught up in a big layoff where the people you have relationships with have zero input.

if i have to sit in an office to have job security (which is a big if as we see all the time) then i rather get thrown out. that never happened in the past almost 4 decades though: i leave because i get better offers. and never have been in an office, ever.

I've never been the first to be let go. It turns out if you do valuable work, people notice that and want to keep you around. On the other hand, when I had jobs based on a personal connection, it was almost the opposite. I was treated almost like an imposter. The conventional wisdom on this is just stupid. No one is going to keep you on just because you're a good buddy. Being useful always comes first.

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