Just started working in a corporate office here in the UK (giant corporate). I’ve noticed people mostly sit quietly at their desks and don’t chat much during the day.
Back in Asia, offices felt way more social tea breaks, casual chats, a lot more energy.
Is this just the norm here? Do people usually socialize more outside of work instead? Any tips on how to get used to it?
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Who wants to talk to their work colleagues unless you have to?! Pretty normal.
Since Covid office chat have generally fallen apart.
Depends on the office. Some are like this and some are more chatty and friendly.
It’s the wonderful “office culture” that we love so dearly.
I’m a quiet soul, leave me to shirk on Reddit in peace
Happens more when times are harder. Not so much hiring so more work on fewer shoulders. People get worried they’ll be made redundant so they focus on work. It gets more chatty when there’s money to hire and train people.
People are overworked/overloaded/underpaid and/or bitter
The rest of us are waiting for you to break t he silence
Depends on the office and industry, if you’re at a giant corporate like that it’s not too surprising
Could be a number of things, but I’ve noticed since people worked from home during COVID, it’s been different every time I went into an office. My guess is that there are a fair few people who don’t want to work in an office being forced to go in, who just wanna work from home. Workloads also seems to have increased a lot since 5 years ago which doesn’t help either. If there are big age gaps or jobsworths on the team, it also creates a shit atmosphere. I CBA to talk to jobsworths.
My office before COVID was actually a lovely atmosphere, unfortunately the commute was 2 hours each way which killed me for 7 years.
In my current office we just pretty much take the piss out of each other all day long, as long as the works done no-one cares, we aren’t micromanaged or anything, the manager is just as bad as us and the business runs like clockwork
I’ve worked in other offices before that have these whole company slogan type aspirations like “Be yourself, always” and that sort of shit and everyone is literally too scared to just be themselves, so it’s dead quiet.
Depends on the office. Some are lively and chatty, some are quiet and cold. I’ve been in both and I definitely prefer the former, but with hybrid working it’s harder to get that kind of atmosphere nowadays since there’s less opportunity for people to build up a rapport.
Ours was the same before Covid. Now with hybrid working people just aren’t as bothered
Probably people frustrated that they’re expected to work at the office when there may be little practical value or need for it. Covid lockdown showed how much work can be done from home.
Since Covid we have a lot more people working Flexi or completely remote.
There is still some chat on a day when you’ve got a good bunch in the office, but less than there had been in the past.
Working from home has basically killed office dynamics. People don’t see much of each other, resent having to travel and the thing that happened during COVID where everyone cared for each other is well and truly finished. The world has gone to shit and the general ethos now is that profits are king so get on with work and shut it.
Our office is miserable, and has been for many years. Sorry.
It used to be, but since covid it’s gone. Fridays used to be full and busy, ready to go on the lash, now they’re empty.
Most of the offices I’ve worked at have been quite friendly – even to the point of making actual irl friends.
I’ve not done a big corporate office job though, partly because I’m not surprised about what you’re saying.
In my experience, smaller offices are far more friendly and talkative. The bigger the team, the less personable it is.
Uk work culture can be / is extremely toxic. Loads of people in your office will have problems with each other, it’s pretty much guaranteed.
Very much depends on the industry and the people. I am quite sociable and get bored so wander about chatting to people when I can’t be arsed to work. If I have something in my hand it looks like I am doing something important. I have worked in some offices though where people never speak to anyone unless they absolutely have to.
Not really normal – even when I worked at Amazon people used to have lunch together.
You just have a bad office. Mine is very social.
I’ve been to a few since COVID, it really seems to vary from office to office. Sometimes even from department to department
COVID killed the office atmosphere I think.
Everyone worked from home, having spent years being told it was absolutely unthinkable to do so, and discovered that the commute isn’t necessary, the workplace friends you thought you had are just barely acquaintances, and you’re actually much happier prioritising home life.
Office attendance is now a necessary evil, and the lack of chatter and “office banter” is just a reflection of the fact that everyone would rather be working at home.
Varies massively by company, but I’m in an office environment like that these days (well, 2 days out of a 5 day working week) and it sucks. They make you go to all the time, money and effort of turning up and then no one wants to talk to anyone.
I respect wanting to get your head down and work, but that’s literally no different than what you’d do at home.
I saw a post recently which summarised it perfectly.
‘Ive gone from my colleagues throwing me a baby shower in 2018 to now working with people who don’t want to share details about their weekend’
Most people now know they could work remotely and begrudge coming in.
Varies by office. My office is quite chatty when people are in, downstairs it’s like a morgue.
Totally depends on the office! I’ve worked in very vibrant places and some dull ones.
Oh thats easy, because our corporate overlords crushed our spirit 🙂
I barely get paid enough to do my work and i’ve been forced to move jobs by shit management and constant penny pinching for shareholders that If i “stayed in touch” and “made friends” with everyone i worked with I woudlnt be able to afford a wedding because of all the guests.
I cant afford it anyway, but oh well
Covid did seem to kill off the after work drinks. It still happens, but not as often as it used to back in 2019 or 2018. Add the cost of living to that, and you have a bad combination, of things being too expensive and people who’ve been used to working remotely for longer period of time. More people realise now, they don’t want to spend any extra time with their coworkers, and would rather head home.
Completely opposite in my office, I get nothing done when I go into the office as everyone wants to sit around and chat
Since we’ve moved office it seems as though everyone just remains at their desk and doesn’t socialise much except for lunch.
I usually work in the field but I occasionally have office days and it can be depressing to watch. Everyone’s just sat staring at their screens and don’t even conversate unless they need to.
Whilst I’m not exactly a sociable person, the UK, particularly London, seems so anti-social compared to other parts of the world.
Yeah it’s a very cagey environment full of gossip and people looking to get you the sack. There is a culture mindset that however many free hours overtime you work that you are lazy in the UK.
Depends where you are in the country tbh and what kind of job. I think the rise of hor desking/”hotelling” has a lot to answer for though, as does the general shift towards hybrid or remote work as people generally know each other less well these days.
Depends on the place, sometimes it can be one idiot pulling one of the various race/sexual etc cards looking for an easy payout and the managers just lock down any form of conversation meaning everyone is too scared to say anything above and beyond the bare minimum.
That sounds unusual. In our office we have a laugh but also get on with our work. A dead atmosphere is a real shame.
Two maybe three factors.
WFH and in the office 2/3 days a week and this doesn’t build decent working camaraderie.
Hot desking, I’ve worked for my current employer for 8 months, never sat with my London based team, not even once.
Post COVID the turnover of staff seems to accelerated coupled with offshoring.
As for going out after work for drinks, a lot of people have discovered their families and a life outside of work, plus London and major cities are expensive.
Just your office innit
This is the UK as a whole, it’s really becoming a very depressing place to be and mood is being reflected in all walks of life now. 10-15 years ago people were much more upbeat
It depends on how busy people are and the general state of the company you work for, of you’re being micromanaged etc. If I’m busy and in the office I tend to have my headphones in so I can concentrate on getting my work done without getting distracted by the noise around me.
If I’m not busy and am in a good mood, I’ll be more chatty.
Well, people including me hate going to the office.
Which is why I don’t go, except once a month.
If they force me, I will just leave and let my manager sort all the workload I do. I’ve made sure to have workload which no one can replace after I leave.
I’ve even had my entire old team breaking down and dissolving after I left because no one could replicate my workload.
WFH is my number 1 principle and I won’t break it for the “corporate culture”. More people should do this, so we aren’t all forced to go back to the office, lose time and finances in commute and genuinely feel unhappy.
COVID proved nearly any desk job can be done perfectly fine from home. Businesses need to understand the costs associated with a valuable employee leaving are much greater than making a compromise and leaving them WFH.
Do your best to make yourself valuable and irreplaceable at your workplace. And prioritize your personal life at home. It’s much more important than your job.
Probably depends on your office.
If my office were any more chatty it’d be really hard to concentrate and get anything done.
Which part of Asia. I work in Korea and it’s silent apart from the occasional toxic bullying
I’ve worked both in office and at home for my current company (large corporate 5k+ employees) for 2 years now and I can’t say I know anything about my coworkers. They don’t talk to me, don’t ask any questions about my life, and when we’re on video calls, they just get straight to the topic and nothing else. It is so boring. I get British culture is reserved, but it feels extra ridiculous. It’s harder as I’m quite introverted but even I feel suffocated from the loneliness.
My previous place of work was much better (also in the UK), you knew where to draw the line but it was good office relationships. However, it was a much smaller company.
Still, I’ve also worked in another country and the UK is definitely generally less chatty. No idea how people make friends here unless you grew up with them or went to school with them.
I’ve only worked in small to medium size offices, they’ve always been very social. I’ve made some very good friends through work over the years.
I don’t want to be completely anti-social but how on earth can people get work done if they are chatting all day? Although there are some times where we will chat, there is too much going on to have time. If someone else is quiet and chatty but I’m busy (which is all day every day) then I find it really difficult to get through enough work.
Yes, this is why people prefer working at home.
Generally we value our time away from the office more than the time spent in it, so everyone is usually a little more miserable when they’re at work.
I think whether people think it’s good or bad, COVID lockdown made some people really undersatnd that they are happier working alone or just more comfortable being introverted at work. Before that I felt as though people forced themselves to be extroverted by masking and then 2020 happened and people stopped the act.
Happy to hear that you have the time to sit and chat.
Individual personalities differ quite a lot. If you are with a mix of people who have vastly different interests, or life outlook there is very little to discuss, really.
I feel like it’s v office dependent.
In my first one, there was a lot of conflicting messaging about what culture we should be cultivating: management would say we were not maximising working time (like we had to record how long we spent on tasks and they would review the numbers, pulling us up if a minute in the day was not accounted for or if they thought we could be finishing tasks in less time) and yet they also complained that the office vibe was cold and stuffy and encouraged us to participate in ‘water cooler chat’. It was ridiculous.
My current one has people that spend all day chatting and doing f all and other people are head down, working the whole time because they’re carrying the chatty peoples’ workload.
I’ve always found myself in chatty offices which tbh I’d rather not be lol
I don’t want to be in the office and we are extremely short staffed. I want to get through my work as quick as possible which doesn’t leave much time for chit chat.
People who are not as busy do tend to congregate together though and they are pretty talkative
India has quite bad office culture as seen from tiktok videos.. 4-5 hour work in 9 hour way. It’s 7-7.30 hour work in 9 hour day here.
After world war, we had to be strict disciplined. If you waste time chitchatting you are stealing it’s actually time theft from employers pov. We would send such criminals them to Australia
I love my office job. No one talks, but I don’t like people so I get to sit there all day listening to podcasts.
Depends on the workplace culture of your company.
Wish the office would be more like The Office sometimes.
Used to be more chatty in my office pre pandemic but yes, it’s pretty quiet now – the only time I really chat to colleagues is if we go for lunch together.
Varies massively from office to office.
At my current job, I’m in the office three days per week, and I have good relationships with most of the team. I try to line my days up with certain people.
I used to work in an office where we were in 5 days per week, and the culture was abysmal. Cliques started to form, and there was a lot of backstabbing.
My point being, I don’t think it’s entirely down to WFH.
10 years ago, offices were far more fun. There were affairs going on, Fridays were the start of the weekend and pubs were alive from Friday lunch on and TBPH, the younger people would end up in clubs etc.
All that seems to have died.
Lmao of course it is. It’s the UK 😂 I feel like everyone giving reasons as to why, might not realise just how different the UK is to the rest of the world. Sure some offices are warmer than others etc, but generally other countries have a wayyyy more communal / warm culture in general. It’s incomparable at times.
Really depends on the office culture the company harbours.
People in the UK are heavily depressed and dont talk to each other unless its an exchange of service
Definitely depends on the office, mine is very chatty.
We’re all too afraid of offending someone as soon as we open our mouth these days, and finding ourselves in a disciplinary hearing.
Part of this may be down to the very common practice of co-workers being quite factionalised. Pretty new to this whole workplace thing as I’m still in uni, but I’ve recently started a placement in a high school as part of my course. The staffroom is like a chapel of rest (or at least a chapel of rest that has at least one PE teacher drinking Monster and noisily wolfing down a pot noodle) because so many of the staff quietly loathe each other and team up with those they can barely tolerate. More often than not there are conversations going on behind the scenes but only with a small clique of people involved and it’s largely just to gossip. Personally I’m keeping out of it, any free time I have in my day I will just go over to the inclusion room and play board games with the ‘outcasts’ as they call themselves, the kids who don’t really fit in anywhere.
I moved to London from Asia 8 years ago and the corporate culture here feels very different. In the UK, people tend to be more reserved and keep work and personal life separate. Back in Southeast Asia, there was a stronger sense of camaraderie — after-work dinners, drinks, tea-break conversations. I even remember teammates staying late with me just because I had last-minute tasks from the boss. We worked hard, but we also bonded through it. I miss that mix of grind and social connection.
https://preview.redd.it/pd69z4ouwjof1.jpeg?width=700&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=24b45bc4dcda9f71701a33f9f2cdc659f420a39d
My office is split between the account managers and the operational staff, they all look like they (account managers) hate each other and hate us.
Really don’t know why they’re so antisocial.
But the operational staff all work on shifted shifts so aren’t able to socialise with eachother anyway.
Makes for a miserable work environment
I think even a job in a Postroom or small supermarket can have a good mix of people, but, again it depends on the individuals you work with.
I’d say that the office follows the general rules of adult life really. If you happen to become friends with a colleague or a group at work then you’ll probably grab lunch together (although some people need that little alone time and why not eh) or chit chat through the day. You’ll meet up out of work too. All good. Otherwise “work acquaintance” rules apply. Polite to each other, but otherwise you just work and go home.
Is that normal for humans in the grand scheme of life? Absolutely fucking not. There is nothing normal about corporate life. It is designed to strangle the joy out things. We used to have drinks Friday in the office, weekly recognition, a laugh, senior bosses at the local with you having a pint and you get to actually know the people and their families. Now? That’s all been lost through completely extricating the work environment from the social environment.
Since you mentioned tea breaks Im assuming it is India or Malaysia maybe?
The culture in UK is not as informal as those countries. So yes, it might feel cold. But it isn’t cold. And also, socialisation is usually post work, over beers. That has reduced post covid a lot since most people have to commute farther.
People don’t shut the fuck up at my office. I had to buy noise cancelling headphones
You say “back in Asia,” where in Asia are you talking about? Asia is an entire continent and I’m sure office culture there varies from country to country. Like in the UK, it will also vary from company to company.
Yeah. I just want to go home, sorry
Depends on the office
Where i work there making us come back into the office SO WE TALK MORE not less
like the other day i had the F1 on one of the big screens and had group of chatting about the free practice and got the nod of approval over it because they want us socialising
Yep. Workplaces are a collection of strangers that are contractually obliged to spend time together. Invest your time building meaningful relationships outside work with people that you actually choose to
Not to go into an anti British tirade – but generally speaking Brits (born and raised as well foreigners who have assimilated for years) generally adopt more reserved disposition
Go work in sales they’re all chatter boxes haha
You know what put our office in that position? Earphones.
When we had the radio on previously there was chat and we’d play the daily quiz during a quick tea break etc but one day about 2/3 years ago the older guys retired or whatever and the younger ones ditched the radio for earphones.
The place sounds like a ghost town now. All the fun atmosphere is gone.
I worked in accounts and that was really quiet but also sales and that was like a social gathering haha
The issue is the UK is in the middle – we speak to Asia and the US so we are generally busier. Asia and the US have time when most of the rest of the world is sleeping. I definitely noticed this when working in the states compared to the UK. It’s much more easy to be social when you have time for it
If you say the wrong thing you could start some drama and end up in HR.
It’s safer to just shut up and get the work done. Bit depressing but that’s the way it is.
Out of my last 3 office jobs I’ve had (IT) only one has felt like that and it sucks, id definitely take a small payout to to work in a team/office full of people I can actually speak to
In my office, no one feels like they are good friends with each other. We are all just colleagues.
Yes, agreed. Also depends on the kind of office and average age of workers.
Overall its very different to that in Asia. Cultural shock for some.
This may have been said, but I’d really encourage you to be yourself – so if you love a good chat, or want to be upbeat/positive then be like that.
I’ve been in some offices when someone has virtually danced in with some chocolates, or wanting to chat and the entire atmosphere has changed in energy. People like that can really lift everyone’s spirits and you may find a lot of people are sat feeling a bit dejected and wanting to socialise for a few minutes.
I’m not saying you need to be extrovert or dance around like I said – just that if you wanted to stop and chat, or make a comment to start a conversation, it’d probable be welcomed and you may find others join in.
I’ve seen it happen countless times
Yup definitely felt that way in both my office jobs so far here in the UK.
We all hate where we work.
You should go a US office.
There’s a reason they work such late hours, those fuckers are chatting the entire fucking day.
I briefly worked in an office which had its own muffled cough! I had to leave.
The old sample of one again eh…..
Of course, all offices are exactly the same with the same personalities and culture – every single one in the UK – so this will be straightforward to answer.
My current office is like that and I will be leaving as soon as I can
I mean I used to go to work and say literally nothing to anyone for 11.5 hours then go home. It’s so much easier than speaking to people .
i’ve found since lockdown nobody socialises like they use to in office.
I use to have people coming to my desk hourly to talk or query something. Now they sit across the bank of desks and teams me
Very different from how i used to remember pre covid.
My own office is similar, ie people getting on with their work with very little chat. I prefer that but to be honest I’m nearing the end of my career and a bit of a grumpy bastard so can’t really be arsed most of the time. Will chat to the odd person I have a good relationship with.
Back in the 1990s in particular I would say it was a bit more like your Asian experience. Large, open plan offices full of people (and typically younger people), more socialising outside of work times etc. That has gradually reduced over time but COVID really accelerated the change to the more sedate, dull environment we have today.
Yes, it’s the norm. People don’t want to get fired
Nobody likes anyone anymore.
I got into the office workforce in August 2019. We would all go for drinks every single Friday and sometimes midweek as well since we were in the city and didn’t need to drive. Now a days, we have a social event every quarterly within the department and there’s the company wide christmas night. People were dead chatty before covid, now everyone isn’t because they realised they don’t need to be.
In the office I work at we generally have a few hours through the working week where we are pretty quiet while we focus on pushing through our workload, especially when things are getting demanding. For the most part though we spend a good chunk of our time chatting and carrying on, we’re all pretty friendly with each other. Something would feel very off if we didn’t have our usual banter throughout the day.
I’m categorically in favour of stricter standards around bullying, harassment, what is and isn’t work appropriate chat etc. but I also think it’s undeniable that it has had an impact on office social dynamics. People are rightly more careful about what they say, and that has many positives, but it does make a colder atmosphere. I personally think the trade off is worth it to ensure people can work in a professional environment without being made to feel uncomfortable, insulted, mocked, abused etc.
Over a 55 year period working in UK offices, it was very rare for anyone to socialize with other employees. It seemed during my working life that all employees kept their ‘friends’ well separate from their ‘work acquaintances’.
That’d be because you’re Asian. I wish it wasn’t true but we are 50% racist fuckwits.
Most of the people replying have had the same friends since school and very rarely will you make friends, actual friends with someone at work and again if that happens its so rare it’ll last a lifetime. We are like tribes and its really difficult to integrate yourself into our society.
Source? Im English with a latvian mrs and even I’m no longer invited to family/friends events for and I quote “dating a Russian”.
You probably got on the wrong side of the office mum and fucked all your work relationships forever.
Depends on the office and group of people. My office has so much casual chit chat that work and productivity suffer. Personally, I’d prefer a quieter and less intrusive environment as I feel very unproductive most days but it is what it is 🤷🏻♀️
maybe it’s because i’m nerodivergent and have the energy of a pomeranian, but i pop into offices randomly to chat (with people that have okayed this). my door is usually open, so people pop in as well. i’ve also worked in asia and it actually feels more social here because of the multitude of social events (eg monthly team drinks)
I think it depends a lot on your team members too.
My team is very chatty but I know other teams where everyone is a bit more serious and quiet. And then there is the other extreme of a team that feels like a cult where they spent most of they time together, in the office and outside
“I’ve noticed people mostly sit quietly at their desks and don’t chat much during the day”
I bloody wish this was the case at my workplace.
People don’t shut the fuck up at mine 🤣🤦🏻♀️
I wish my office was like that. Can’t stand the sound of incessant jibber jabber while trying my best to remain focused on my task at hand.