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AIBU?

Are the people you work with your kind of people?

82 replies

PrincessHoneysuckle · 04/06/2020 13:58

I get on with my colleagues well but they are reserved compared to me.At my old work place it was an anything goes type of work place where you could talk about literally anything and noone would bat an eyelid This is what I'm like as a person and my friends are too.Do you work with similar people to you or do you just have your workplace in common?

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PrincessHoneysuckle · 04/06/2020 13:58

This was meant for chat sorry

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Ouchjuststoodonlego · 04/06/2020 14:03

They are a group of filthy minded, highly inappropriate and crass lunatics.

I love every one of them.

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Sparklesocks · 04/06/2020 14:04

I think it depends on what you want to talk about, there are some topics I think should be off limits at work even if you get on well with your colleagues.

But yes you’re absolutely right, the dynamics and cultures of workplaces can differ hugely and sometimes you find yourself a bit of an outlier.
I think mine has the balance quite right, people have a chat and a laugh but also can get their heads down and work hard when needed. It means you can join in and chat when you fancy it, but switch off and concentrate when you need to.

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PrincessHoneysuckle · 04/06/2020 14:05

@Sparklesocks only politics was off limits

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NewLevelsOfTiredness · 04/06/2020 14:06

Yes, so much. But then they interview for social fit as well as competence etc.

I met my fiancée there.

We miss all partying together, despite some amazing efforts via zoom :(

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MotorwayDiva · 04/06/2020 14:08

Some are 100%, the other half not at all.

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TokyoSushi · 04/06/2020 14:09

No absolutely not, they are all very clever scientists, male and over 50. I am absolutely not that at all!

They are some of the kindest and most interesting people I know.

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DanniArthur · 04/06/2020 14:11

I'm alot younger than my colleagues... by about 20 years so find it very difficult sometimes. We have nothing in common at all. They all talk about people and shows I dont know and I tend to be left out a lot due to my age. Sometimes they are quite patronising about my 'lack of life experiences' or resentful that I'm in the same job as them with 20 years less experience. I'd love colleagues I could go to lunch with or have a drink with but a group of them go to things together that I've no interest in (golf and bingo) and that dominates most of the chat.

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Taswama · 04/06/2020 14:13

Not really. I'm interested in current affairs, theatre, good books, the countryside. Most of my colleagues are into tv, eating out, getting drunk. I realise that makes me sound like a terrible snob but there you go.

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recycledbottle · 04/06/2020 14:57

Yes I am similiar to my colleagues. We all get along quite well

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ShopTattsyrup · 04/06/2020 15:15

I'm a nurse, so broadly I'd say we only really have our workplace in common as there is a wide range of interests, experience and a big age range across the team. But the dept I work in definitely attracts a certain "type" of nurse, so very similar senses of humour and outlooks within the team which makes the differences less important I think :)

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Epigram · 04/06/2020 15:16

I've only worked in two workplaces. The first one was very vibrant and buzzy with a 'work hard play hard' culture which really suited me at the time (in my 20s).

Then I had DC and was a SAHM for a few years. Since going back to work, my colleagues in my current job are really nice but a bit older and more serious. I might found them a bit dull when I was younger, but this environment suits me for my current time of life (busy with family and friends, wouldn't want to be out clubbing on a Friday night).

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speakout · 04/06/2020 15:17

Yes, because I have no colleagues- perfect.

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teenagetantrums · 04/06/2020 15:18

I work in a small team of 8. Two are now very good friends of mine. We have a laugh. Talk about anything and see each other outside work..well we did before coronviris...
The others are nice enough we get on but wouldn't call them my kind of people.

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TidyDancer · 04/06/2020 15:18

Yes, a few of them have become very good friends. Two in particular I'm very close to and I love them a lot. Definitely on my wavelength.

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ivfgottostaypositive · 04/06/2020 15:20

Yes but I've always been careful to ensure (as much as possible) that if I change jobs the people I would be working with are "my" kind of people - I've turned down jobs before because I didn't get that feeling

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isabellerossignol · 04/06/2020 15:23

The people in my workplace really click with each other. We can discuss politics without falling out, books we've read, trash TV, anything and everything. And there are loads of people with razor sharp wit and a dry sense of humour. I've laughed until I've cried with them. And despite that, we're actually all really focused on doing things right and everyone pulls their weight and no one takes the piss. I'll really miss them when the time comes to move on.

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MintyCedric · 04/06/2020 15:29

@Taswama ikwym

There are some people I get on really well with but the majority, whilst nice enough people, I dont feel I have much in common with.

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Winnipegdreamer · 04/06/2020 15:31

They are sarcastic, overly ambitious, filthy minded and very good at what they do. I love the bones of them 😂

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Neap · 04/06/2020 15:33

Yes. I'm an academic in a humanities subject in a building with historians, lecturers in fine arts, design, creative writing, theatre, and modern languages. Obviously, as with anywhere, there are people I personally dislike, but there's a base level of highly literate, articulate people who are interested in the arts and are broadly left-wing and politically engaged. Lots of activities dovetail I've been involved in adapting a text for an opera libretto, running arts festivals, doing public engagement with the arts stuff, going into prisons etc and I've made two close friends, and several less close ones.

Having said that we're in separate offices, or in paired ones, so it's not some open-plan fiesta of unbridled speech or anything -- I couldn't cope with that, especially not when writing or marking.

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Langsdestiny · 04/06/2020 15:33

They arent like me at all, and we have completely different interests, and very different opinions on many things that are important to me, I love them a lot Smile

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shinynewapple2020 · 04/06/2020 15:34

I work for a public service employer which, prior to austerity, cuts etc was really family friendly , hence most people in my team are part time workers who originally sought part time work around our children, we are mainly female, in our 40s and 50s and most chat is around our family members or popular TV shows. I imagine any new, younger staff member would find us all very boring!

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LakieLady · 04/06/2020 15:38

Pretty much. They're all very lefty with strong social consciences, but I've never met a benefits adviser who's not like that, tbh.

Helping the people that the average Express reader regards as feckless ne'er do wells is not something many right-wing people would get into, imo.

I've made them sound a prissy now, but they're a good laugh and enjoy a drink, and we all swear a lot.

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PrincessHoneysuckle · 04/06/2020 15:59

@LakieLady noone swears here 😔

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Ghostlyglow · 04/06/2020 16:29

No, not really.

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