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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Some of these people may be closed off because they don't really want to talk about their personal lives. Complex, afraid of judgment, etc. I think people with very straightforward/ approved lives (eg married with kids living in a nice suburb) have an easier time bringing their "whole selves" to work and seeming more open.[/quote]

Where I work in the U.S., I actually got told to be more social and ask people about their weekends at the beginning of meetings, etc.  I really hate that because my experience is that people like to ask me personal questions but don't really care about the answers.  Once I started doing what I was told to do to be personable, I found that people didn't really remember what I told them anyway.  Also at my work the men like to talk about sports (which doesn't interest me) and they really like to drink together after work.  I'm a short woman who doesn't care for drinking and I can only have 1 drink and be safe to drive during a "happy" hour.

I understand that chit chat is social glue but it's depressing to find out that nobody cares.  I enjoy the company of business-like people who start meetings on time.  I don't consider them unfriendly at all.  I consider them respectful of my privacy and my time.

I've had one workplace (in DMV) where we all got personally friendly and I invited many of the people to my wedding and still send them Christmas cards although I haven't worked with them in decades.  One of the key differences was that those people liked to talk about the news, cultural events, and travel.  It is hard to discuss your latest trip to an art museum with someone who wants to discuss the outcome of a football game.  They simply don't care anything about what you saw.  And it's difficult to comment on game plays you didn't witness yourself.[/quote]

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