I used to work in a 10k employee mega organization where we had this kind of over formalization. It was probably invented to prevent feelings being hurt.
I then moved to a tiny five man consultancy where efficiency was what we lived (or died) by. Never forget the day when my first code review from the CEO was "that is f##king s@#t code!
I've been living in the USA for a year and I don't think I will ever get over this odd 'spaced out' way of living. I see 3 lane roads that would work so much better as a mixed tram/bicycle lane. Crossing roads is also terrifying.
Nix the thought of walking to do the following activities:
- fetching a missing ingredient from a local shop/store that would take 25min round trip and benefit you with additional exercise.
- spending an evening going between bars being mildly intoxicated but not requiring a taxi.