| 01-04-2015 11:15 AM |
| Unregistered |
Quote:
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?
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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!
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| 31-03-2015 10:42 PM |
| Nik |
Quote:
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!
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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?
Quote:
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.
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Yeah, will stick around and bear with it for the next couple years, while trying to find some way of socializing during work.
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| 31-03-2015 11:33 AM |
| Unregistered |
triss
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.
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| 31-03-2015 09:33 AM |
| Unregistered |
Quote:
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!
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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 
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| 31-03-2015 09:05 AM |
| 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!
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| 06-03-2015 08:44 PM |
| ook |
everybody going lunch on their own is actually extremely weird 
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| 05-03-2015 11:32 AM |
| 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
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| 19-02-2015 01:30 AM |
| Unregistered |
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.
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| 12-02-2015 09:19 AM |
| Unregistered |
Tell me what company. Resignation letter ready over here to jump ship to urs
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| 11-02-2015 03:50 PM |
| Unregistered |
it is probably unusual. but as you admit yourself everything else is perfect. so I don't think there's much to complain about. maybe after a while you find this actually makes you more productive and can finish your work early everyday and have more time with friends and family - those who you really enjoy hang out with anyway. So all in all it might be a good thing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nik
Hi all,
I need some insight on this new company I just joined recently.
Overally, everything about the company is perfect. I mean, really perfect.
Except for one really disturbing issue : the office is too quiet.
You guys ever been to the National Library in Bugis? Ever went to 7th - 12 storeys? It's those reference rooms (Lee Kong Chian library, I think) that is so quiet till you can hear nothing at all except your own breathing.
That's how the office is like. And even more bizarrely, no one seems to talk to each other! And once in a blue moon when they do talk, it's all work.
Now, you may think: ok, so normal work-related talk with a couple of jokes here and there, and some small talk thrown in once in a while or some banter / slight chatter.
Except there's none. The conversation is PURE work, full of figures, numbers, stats, data, and once done, people go back immediately to their seats.
In the morning, people don't greet each other.
People plug their ears with earphones.
People eat lunch solo.
On certain days, you don't even see or hear some of them opening their mouths.
You may think : people go to work to work, NOT socialize.
You may argue: maybe it's cos' they're super busy.
The thing is : I've been in job environments that are WAY more high-tempo and busier than this, and those environments also have financial consequences if things go wrong, something this current one doesn't have.
So, this doesn't really explain why the office is so bizarrely quiet to the point it's scary and creepy.
Can you imagine going to work every day and not talk to your colleagues more than 10 words a day? I highly doubt anyone has worked in this weird situation before.
Don't get me wrong : the people are courteous, friendly, polite and easy-going, but somehow, no one seems to want to open their mouths.
Is this because of some underlying issue that I'm not aware of? Like some undercurrent at work here> I just joined recently, if you remember, so I still need to observe.
While people may say a quiet office is better than a chaotic one, an office that is even quieter than a cemetery (at least in cemeteries, you can hear insects) feels very uncomfortable to work in.
I'm not gonna leave any time soon cos' the work is very awesome.
Is there anything I can do long-term to slowly turn things around? Never faced this sort of situation before. I'm gonna try saying greetings to them and making small talk and forcing in some jokes between the 101%-work conversations to see if things get better.
Also, is it a good idea to ask HR about why the office is like this? In the 6+ companies I worked with, never faced anything like this.
Even in quiet companies, people do make small talk occasionally here and there, not keep mum permanently.
Tks for any insight!
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