I returned to work from office a while back and it was really hard to keep up my social energy high enough. First day I did ok with the excitement of meeting new people aiding me but it was downhill ever since. Showing up to work is itself a huge chore, and the societal obligation to socialise with people at the workplace all the time, is even bigger chore.
For more context, I only used to maintain very small circle of people I talk to in my uni and college days. Ignoring others was kinda ok at that time but doesn’t seem like so here in corporate space.
Don’t get me wrong, I want to be more free and connect with more people and have bigger circles, I want to improve my social skills too. But at the same time, it very taxing and almost makes me to shut off myself and avoid going to places where people who recognise me.
I work in tech. I go to things but im a big nerd and you can tell us from the other folks for our lack of social skills but there are a lot of us and we still talk a bit we just aren’t outgoing. I make my appearance. Eat and talk a bit and leave at the earliest socially acceptable point which is usually after any kind of activity happens like a dinner or some entertainer or some corpo speech or whatever. Day to day I go to my cube when im in office and I do my work going to pick up refreshements or using the bathroom as needed and I either find a quite place to decompress at lunch or leave the office for lunch.