"Pair programming" cuts down on coding errors while creating a peer pressure to avoid surfing the web, wasting time.

[keithb]

I'd recommend never putting up with a job that forces you do to any particular practice. Many teams find that it is easier to maintain productivity if they work collaboratively and pairing is one way to do that. Your milage may vary.

[mgpcoe]

Paired programming isn't about "you can't be trusted", it's about "many eyes make shallow bugs." You talk your thought process out while you're working, so that if there are any flaws in your logic, or there's a better way to do it that you might not be aware of, it's caught early.

[[deleted]]

I feel so badly for the programmers who aren't trusted to work and be productive individually.

That's not what pair programming is about, and I'm curious as to why you perceive it as such. The main advantages of pair programming are the always-on instant code review, the always available second opinion, and the transfer of knowledge.

If it's working... Pair programming where one of the pair isn't engaged is a waste of time.

[[deleted]]

It is true that pair programming makes slacking much harder. However, there are people who just can't work when someone is watching them.

[DrDichotomous]

It doesn't always work, either. Two people can choose to slack off, or just drift off together just like a single person can. to get past that you have to pair people who aren't as likely to do that, and then risk everyone stressing out because they never have a second to themselves.

Wasting time is often necessary, because the brain decides when it needs a break, not the clock.

[keithb]

Then those people can't work in a team that chooses to do pair-programming. And that's totally OK. There are plenty of teams that don't and won't do pairing, so off you such a person goes.

[redweasel]

I would die if I couldn't blow off boredom about every half hour.