Company Office Culture

crispy

Hello,

I was just wondering what others experiences were of the general culture and atmosphere in the office you work? I am asking as this morning I have listened to what must be three hours solid of talking about subjects such as 'what bathroom and kitchen applicanes do we have' / 'what the cat was doing last night' / 'what I ate for dinner yesterday' etc I could go on but sure you can get the picture. I feel as if I am being unscoiable for not not joining in but it is starting to do my head in, I guess I am a little bit naturally introverted (accountants genereally are?) and cannot cope in a environment with constant small talk. Considering leaving but do not want to be pushed out by others...

Apologies for miserbale rant - not enjoying my day today :crying:

mandatory

There isn't much small talk in my office, probably due to the fact that there are only four others working in this room! When we do talk (we are really friendly when we do!) it's usually about travelling, my boss' various building projects or plans for the weekend. My small talk is usually with the only other female in the office and we talk mostly about food, but in all honesty I'm not much of a talker. I'm never the conversation starter but I will chip in ideas and thoughts if I have them/when I'm asked, I'm the 'quiet one' in my office. It's not constant and today when there is only three of us in this room it's been quite silent. You're not unsociable, sometimes I get sick of hearing it too! Especially rants about girlfriends/boyfriends, that's the worst for me!

crispy

Hey,

Thanks for your reply, I do like to join in on their conversations but for me it just seems to go on for too long (Half an hour constant talk about their cutllery drawer ?!) and leaves me feeling quite drained. This afternoons conversation have continued in the same light as the mornings, the worst offender I swear just does not stop talking and is unfortunately sat next to me - if the office window was any higher I would seriously consider jumping out of it !

Best of luck with your CIMA studies, excellent qualification!

mandatory

Thank you, I do indeed love CIMA! I'm preparing for my last management exams for May, getting closer!

Half an hour about cutlery? To me that is very excessive (plus why would anyone want to discuss the contents of their cutlery drawer? You can only get so excited about forks, knives and spoons, which is not very)... occasionally there will be a long debate between the two people in our IT department about religion (one is religious, one isn't) which I do my best to stay out of as it probably goes on for half an hour too. In the back office, where there are four people in one team working there, there is a lot more small talk as far as I am aware. I sometimes have to go in there to do some file checking and I will hear people will talk about babies, TV (I don't watch TV so it's auto-tune out of this chat) and other things which I just don't find interesting. They always talk, where as in my room it's a lot more reserved, probably because the five of us are three different departments. I just can't talk about things I have little to no interest in... I feel for you on the cutlery drawer chat!

Speaking of small talk I did have a little chat (< 1 min) with my manager earlier as a friend invited me to a comic convention this week, but I only brought it up because he likes comic books. I wouldn't randomly bring something up if I knew no one would be interested.

crispy

Thanks again, I wish I was joking about the cutlery drawer but alas no...after a while my brain felt it was slowly turning into mush. I am now free(thank god) but looking forward to next weeks riveting conversations maybe such excitement as 'what type of socks do we wear' / 'How much cat food does the cat get through' / 'what type of washing up liquid are we using' etc blah,blah,blah...:-/ guess I am just the miserable guy in accounts.

Regards to CIMA, best wishes for your exams - I found E2 the most difficult but they are all very challenging at this level. Keep looking to improve / move forwards and stay positive is my advice.

MarieNoelle

I work in a small practice and most of the time we just get on with our work. When we talk it's usually work related, ie how to deal with specific entries, how to interpret HMRC guidance etc...Fridays are usually more relaxed and that's when we start chatting about everything and anything - plans for the weekend mostly (and yes also about food, pets, children!). I am definitely not the quieter one at work!

guinea pig

I sympathise, sometimes the banal chit chat is a real pain, but I once did voluntary work in an office where no one ever spoke! It was weird! I guess it's good to get the right balance. Today it's Red Nose Day, we had a good atmosphere in the office with many colleagues wearing red, raising funds etc.
GP