I’d say this happens everywhere, with some exceptions maybe. Like I used to be in academia, it’s generally a stressful environment since you are 100% responsibe for everything. There is freedom in that too, but stressful.
Now I work in an office. There are some that take any chance they get to relax for a bit, socialize, snd so on. I don’t, I go there to work. I’m a bit introvert, so I don’t socialize much, but I put in some effort not to appear antisocial, but that is it.
I like my work, as in the tasks I do give me some satisfaction. I do it for me. I don’t socialize or relax at work because I happen to perfer the tasks. I know I’m lucky here, a lot of people do not get to work jobs like this. My collegues probably do not think the same way about their jobs, and I don’t blame them.
What I don’t get with what you are saying is the following. If everyone is “slacking off”, you get to do your work. I suppose you are not in a position where doing the tasks are satisfying enough to you, and that is why you’d want the others to do the tasks as well. But if you don’t get that satisfaction from doing the tasks, don’t you sympathize with your coworkers? They too probably do not get the satisfaction they’d prefer from the job alone, just like you? The difference between you and them is maybe then in the desire to socialize at work.
If you, unlike them, do not have any way of getting some base level of satisfaction at work, by the tasks alone or by some other means, and instead start resenting them for trying to get that satisfaction, then if you have to opportunity to change your line of work may help. People will probably still be the same, but maybe you won’t resent them?
Aviandelight