I've been struggling with something at work lately. I love to have long, flowing conversations and connect regularly with people, but I work with a few people who talk and share their inner dialogue literally non-stop. There is no space for real "conversation" as they are very self-centric and constantly turn the conversation back to them or even talk right over me. It's exhausting and there are days when my energy is a little higher and I can match them, but most of the time I just want to disconnect and be in my own space if it isn't going to be a balanced conversation.
The problem is, I work in a front desk customer service job where there is no escape from these people. We are 3 feet apart for 8-12 hours at a time, and I'm at a loss for what to do. They don't seem to have the capacity to sit in silence or just be with themselves and I'm looking for advice on how to handle it.
The other day I told one of them "hey, my energy is a little lower today, so don't take it personally if I'm not very talkative" which she acknowledged, but then continued to talk all day! I had to start ignoring her which felt rude but I was so incredibly tapped out.
Please help lol…