I work at an extremely large corporate greenhouse. I know I am socially awkward. I am a quiet guy. I know that being a quiet, socially awkward guy doesn’t get you many places in the professional sense especially if you accidentally come off as creepy/weird. I simply don’t know how to act at work. I’m afraid to be too casual like a lot of people at my job are, but if I’m too quiet then people either think I’m weird or i shouldn’t be taken seriously.
I like people and I like to chat when I’m in the mood for it but I don’t really feel like talking to people most of the time, because I’d rather focus on getting my job done. What I was taught growing up was that work is for work and you arent supposed to socialize or make friends at work because work and home are supposed to be separate.
However, i have made friends at work here and there but I also don’t really want to hang out with them very often because I’m just not into being around people 95 percent of the time. I have PTSD and people are just too much for me to handle a lot of the time.
I’m constantly working towards being better at social skills and sometimes I’m really good at faking it but I mostly want to be alone. I always feel so conflicted. I apologize if this doesn’t make sense, I’m just trying to figure out how to be “normal” at work
2 comments
Be your own normal. Don’t fake anything ever.
Tesion is who you think you should be.
Relaxed is who you are.
Let this be your compass.
Your ease will make others feel ease. Your allowing yourself to be who you are unconsciously gives permission to everyone around you to be themselves. Sweet relief!
You are thusly an oasis of “free to be”.
Now, there is nothing to fix. You are already perfectly who you declare yourself as and you show up for. Read what your post says and see what you chose to create as your defining context. This context setting being true, who do you declare yourself as truly being now?
Surrender to your authentic self. Align fully with it.
May your life be full of all the awesome you enjoy.
I have similar issues at work with you. I’m usually quiet because I’d focus on my duties and often it’s hard to think of what to say, especially with the chaotic environment in my workplace. I might sometimes laugh at their jokes or add a sentence or two to their chit-chat but that’s about it.
I personally think that it’s fine if you don’t want to talk to people too much. There are many different personalities at work, some love to socialise with others while others might not. Perhaps it might be better for you to conserve the energy you have for working. You also said it yourself: work is for work, so you are mostly just going to just deal the work-related stuff with them. Keep a friendly attitude, but don’t be afraid to assert your boundaries.
(That said, I still have a lot to learn about how I should interact with others)