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The original was posted on /r/newzealand by /u/Minute_Lock_421 on 2025-01-23 04:38:47+00:00.
Started my first proper corporate job last week after graduating, and the culture is... not what I thought it would be. I work in a decent sized company, about 40 or so people, but apart from the higher ups and a group of young girls (that have that social atmosphere amongst themselves I imagined office life would be like), everyone seems to keep to themselves, and it's really odd.
Most people eat by themselves at lunch (most at their desk), and the team I work in doesn't seem the most social and don't really talk about non-work things - one guy is leaving at the end of the month and the rest of the team doesn't know what to get him as a farewell present because they barely know anything about him outside of work.
I expected a more social environment. There's only one other guy a similar age to me, and he too mostly keeps to himself. I know I'm very much the new guy and so my perception is skewed, but in an environment like this I imagine it'll be hard to break in socially, even though this is mostly based on my observations thus far and not my personal experience.
Please tell me not all work environments are like this. If this is indeed what my job culture looks like then I can't see myself lasting long here, but if this is common in all work environments then I'm set up for 40+ years of awkwardness, loneliness and driving myself mad