Just wanted to get a sanity check and see if I am being reasonable for not wanting to spend time with my coworkers.
The thing is, I find them the most self-obsessed, needy, insecure, and whiny group of people that I have ever worked with. They are only able to talk about themselves and can’t listen to anyone for more than two minutes. Many of them also constantly over share and complain about their spouses, kids, finances, and even their job duties. I feel like a good portion of them goes to the office so they can avoid their families.
To add, they keep asking me inappropriate questions about my personal life and they seem to love gossiping about others. Anytime I would try to change the topic to something more substantial someone would change it back to gossip, restaurants, travel destinations, and whining.
Anyway, I’m officially over it because trying to socialize with them just puts me in a bad mood and I don’t want to be bringing this energy back to my house. I have been purposefully avoiding them but they are also not easy to shake off. I have to carefully plan all my breaks and routes so I can have some peaceful time for myself. Sometimes I even get out of an elevator on a different floor and take the stairs so I can avoid others.
I get that being more social can help you get better promotional opportunities, but I just can’t stand these people. Communicating with them makes me annoyed and irritated.
However, the job itself doesn’t bother me. It has a good location, pay, and benefits, so I really don’t want to be changing it over this.
Just wanted to see if there is anyone out there who feels the same way about their coworkers. If so, how do you cope?