Really bizzare office environment, need insight.

Tell me what company. Resignation letter ready over here to jump ship to urs

wow, when OP mention the company culture I thought he/she is a new colleague of mine.

Quite similar experience to OP but after 1 month later I got use to the quiet culture and solo eating.

After few months of interaction with the company and colleagues, I finally understand the culture and people, they are actually quite nice people when we get to interact outside.

[JC007]

im from HR but i have never came across any company with a culture like yours. on a personal note, im quite an independent worker but i still think there should be some form of communication among colleagues

[ook]

everybody going lunch on their own is actually extremely weird

Talk about dysfunctional teams.. my department is one. Nobody talks to each other the whole day. Every week, I speak less than 5 sentences in office, or just one sentence per day on average. We eat lunch separately, and when we enter/leave office, we just do so stealthily.

You may think that everyone is quiet because the boss is around. But the situation is still the same even when the boss travels overseas frequently. What a depressing environment!

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Talk about dysfunctional teams.. my department is one. Nobody talks to each other the whole day. Every week, I speak less than 5 sentences in office, or just one sentence per day on average. We eat lunch separately, and when we enter/leave office, we just do so stealthily.

You may think that everyone is quiet because the boss is around. But the situation is still the same even when the boss travels overseas frequently. What a depressing environment!

I think HR forgot to inform you that there are 1 dozen hidden CCTVs installed by your chief to "look" after you during office hours

Sounds creepy but alright to me cos I am not one who likes to chit chat with colleagues, usually colleagues find me too quiet. Depends on your personality sometimes, if you are a talkative and sociable extrovert, maybe this type of environment is too much to bear but then since you mention 'awesome work', so it is still a place to work in.

[Nik]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Talk about dysfunctional teams.. my department is one. Nobody talks to each other the whole day. Every week, I speak less than 5 sentences in office, or just one sentence per day on average. We eat lunch separately, and when we enter/leave office, we just do so stealthily.

You may think that everyone is quiet because the boss is around. But the situation is still the same even when the boss travels overseas frequently. What a depressing environment!

I'm curious, in that case, how do you keep your sanity sane? Do you whatsapp / skype outside friends throughout the day so that at least there's some form of social contact? Or do you have absolutely no social contact whatsoever during the 8 - 10+ hours while you're at work for 5 days every week? I'm curious to know how you deal with the situation.

Also, is there a reason why your company is like this? ie. office culture since day 1?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Sounds creepy but alright to me cos I am not one who likes to chit chat with colleagues, usually colleagues find me too quiet. Depends on your personality sometimes, if you are a talkative and sociable extrovert, maybe this type of environment is too much to bear but then since you mention 'awesome work', so it is still a place to work in.

Yeah, will stick around and bear with it for the next couple years, while trying to find some way of socializing during work.

Originally Posted by Nik

I'm curious, in that case, how do you keep your sanity sane? Do you whatsapp / skype outside friends throughout the day so that at least there's some form of social contact? Or do you have absolutely no social contact whatsoever during the 8 - 10+ hours while you're at work for 5 days every week? I'm curious to know how you deal with the situation.

Also, is there a reason why your company is like this? ie. office culture since day 1?

Yes, I keep social contact with my outside friends during office hours via facebook chat and whatsapp.. and that's why my boss will either see me typing furiously on my handphone or smiling to the laptop screen while typing on the keyboard..

I'm not sure how I would have turned out if it hadnt been for my group of friends because I'm somebody who's generally chatty in nature..so I'm really thankful for my friends who have been keeping me sane and helping me while time away in the office during working hours (since I have nothing to do in office 80% of the time)

I guess the dysfunctional nature of the environment is due to both company culture and the personalities of my colleagues...my bosses are Japanese and they generally have a no-nonsense attitude when it comes to work..this means reaching office before 9am (9.01am is considered late), taking strictly 1 hr lunches, and of course, no chit chatting during work. It doesn't help much that my colleagues are very individualistic/self-oriented and come from different backgrounds (in terms of work experience and industries).. this in turn reduces the commonalities amongst us..i must say this is a very stark contrast from my previous where my colleagues were also my good friends and there was never a day when I felt bored going to work...

Anyway, I would suggest that you quit soon if you find the environment depressing.. although the company might offer good career prospects, do consider the negative impact it might have on your mental state.. (I actually developed mild depression a few months ago because i got too frustrated with the work environment)..

But that's all in the past..have tendered my resignation letter and will be leaving in 3 weeks' time.. so hurray!