As I burrow my way through the levels of my office (a la DigDug), it's becoming increasingly clear that I am going to have to start making some concerted efforts to be less introverted or, at least, to learn to go through the motions.
On the one hand, I sort of resent the fact that honest, hard work doesn't comprise as much of the success pie as I believe it should. On the other hand, part of being successful is being flexible and able to compensate for one's weaknesses.
I was recently promoted to a new department. During my training I made a concentrated effort to be outgoing because I was working with people one-on-one, but it was very draining for me to maintain that level of social interaction and when training was finished I went back to my usual quiet mode. I'm polite and friendly towards people, have good humor, and respond when spoken to, but I focus most of my energy on my actual work and spend very little time socializing. I don't go up to every person's desk in the morning and say hello and talk to them for five minutes about office gossip, their kids, dogs, cats, whatever. But my coworkers ARE like that, and they are beginning to act negatively towards me because I'm not as social as they are, even though I'm a good worker and I don't cause any trouble.
I'm unwilling (and probably unable) to do some kind of 180 personality change, but I need to start being socially proactive, and now. I haven't been in this department long enough for the "damage" of being perceived as socially aloof to set in and I can probably turn it around if I work at it. I can make little rules, like every time I see someone at the water cooler ask them a question about their life or how they're doing, greet the person in the cube next to me every morning and talk for a few minutes, and say goodbye to every person still working when I leave. I do these things inconsistently now, but maybe if I do them every day it will be enough. At the very least, maybe they will appreciate that I am making an effort.
Does being social at work come naturally to you guys or does it require extra effort? I cultivated friendships fairly easily in other work environments (I still have a lot of those friends), but in the office my work has always been solitary and sequestered by the mighty cubicle, so it's easier to run in introvert mode. In my old department I would literally go days without talking to anyone. You can't do that in the retail or food service industries.
If you've seen Office Space, or the Office, you've got the gist of it. Seriously. It is ridiculously easy to lampoon the social and political absurdities of the American office place.
Sheri, it's exactly the same where I work. I dislike humans by default, and it's tough to get up there and network. Especially when 90% of them are deadweight... And that's why I'm not in management. >.>
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