Back in the office stress

Knittingnovice
I live a humdrum boooring life so you can rant to me .

Sara1954

It’s like I said, you don’t have to be best friends, you don’t even have to have much in common, just go with the flow, and before you know it, you may find yourself discussing how you dry your washing.

Or even how often you sterilise your dishcloth.
Just like Gransnet really ?

So agree and that’s why I am hanging up
My laptop at the end of the year ?

Before I retired I joined in with the general office chit chat but there were 2 ladies whose voices both grated dreadfully on my ears (I do wear aids). I really cannot explain what it was as the tone of their voices were totally different, one being louder than the other. Lovely ladies both of them but I found myself avoiding them and their chats as listening to them made me feel quite unsettled the way the tone/timbre (I'm not sure what it was tbh) grated on my ears.
It can be very difficult in social or work situations in spite of what actually gets talked about.

Sounds quite normal to me everyone chats about what going on in their lives it's just socializing

Easily done Knittingnovice, ignore the adverse comments and don't let it put you off Gransnet, some interesting discussions on here. Informative if only to try to understand a different point of view.
Hope work improves.

It’s like I said, you don’t have to be best friends, you don’t even have to have much in common, just go with the flow, and before you know it, you may find yourself discussing how you dry your washing.

Knitting Novice Yes you certainly have given a bad impression I cannot understand why you would expect people to phone you if you havent got to know them.

I worked in offices 65 years ago and I hated it. I left to do training as a nurse and didn't regret it for a moment.

It's called interacting with other human beings , else life becomes maindain and boring.
Try it sometime...you may enjoy.

There’s a lot to be said for working from home a couple days a week…. but my son who is single and lives alone is beginning to worry me. He used to walk 6 miles a day going to and from the office and for 20 months he’s had only himself for company. He’s a quiet , insular sort of man but got on very well with his team/colleagues and enjoy the banter of office life! He’s now quite withdrawn and doesn’t even particularly want to see his many friends. The situation worries me greatly. He’s also put-on a stone in weight !!
He can’t wait to get back to normal…and start being himself again. Unfortunately that maybe won’t happen as his company have massive overheads of ‘the office’ . I think a lot of company’s are ignoring the possibility of mental health breakdowns of people who cannot escape their ‘four walls’. There is two sides to this coin…. And I suspect a large mental health bill to pay in future.

Knittingnovice

I think I've given the wrong impression of myself here. Oh well

I get your point but it might be worth bearing with it so you don't set yourself on the sidelines if you are newish to the team. My son and DIL are finding it much easier working from home. Her job needs total concentration so no mistakes are made and my son is dyspraxic so the open office plan was so distracting for him. He is a very sociable person but found himself continually being drawn to conversations, being very funny and then being in trouble for distracting the others! For him, it was like being in school all over again!

Change jobs.

I would hate to work in an office again. I have done in the past. Glad I work with horses outside at a stables now!

I think I've given the wrong impression of myself here. Oh well

I dont! I got your point!

Sara1954

Callistemon
Oh yes, I’m certain of it, I consider it a real danger.

I don't think ours could fall down, unless the catch wasn't on properly holding it up if we climbed up there, which I try to avoid now anyway.

I think I've given the wrong impression of myself here. Oh well

When I was at school my A-level art class was three-hour sessions. Being art it was fairly easy to chat while we worked.
I soon realised that one of my fellow pupils had one topic of conversation only: Crossroads Motel, which I'd never watched nor had any particular desire to.
However I decided it was a case of "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em," so I duly started watching it so I could follow the prattle chit-chat.
Can't say I enjoyed it particularly though ??

I used to keep my head down & choose carefully the conversations I was interested in contributing towards. It was a large open plan office.
My work needed concentration & my lovely colleagues understood that. I loved a bit of gossip & banter, but at one time I did ask my kind manager to move me to a quieter corner away from the noisier ones! Luckily he knew exactly what I meant & arranged the move. Worked a treat & nobody minded. I feel blessed that I worked with & retired from such a lovely bright, intelligent team.

Callistemon
Oh yes, I’m certain of it, I consider it a real danger.

Knittingnovice

Luckily a few days. Merylstreep, the written word can cause misinterpretation. It is frustrating as I started just before lockdown so hadn't settled in, but people are still selfish.

Perhaps they all know each other well if they've worked together for a long time.
If you show an interest in them and their lives, perhaps they'll chat to you and ask you.

Strictly at coffee time, of course

We are a very diverse bunch, five of us are related, some people have been with us for a very long time, some less so, we all have different interests and hobbies, and outside the workplace, probably wouldn’t find much in common, but I think it’s good to try and look for common ground, and hear different views on things, I think you are missing out knittingnovice

^ loft hatches, and the dangers of them falling down and killing someone,^
what was the general opinion? Do you think they could?

Yes, you only get out what you put in. Join in even if the topic bores you witless, or you’ll always be the outsider, not invited to drinks after work etc.

Germanshepherdsmum
That’s good, as long as everyone is happy.
I’m not saying that people will be miserable without a bit of chit chat, more that it’s good if you can all get along and have a laugh, I think knittingnovice would benefit from joining in.