For me, one of the benefits of #WFH is that it reduced verbal interaction with my colleagues. Apart from the stand ups we do and some meetings here and there, we don’t interact verbally and I really like this. Don’t get me wrong, my colleagues are good people, I just don’t enjoy that verbal interaction. Now, one of my colleague is asking that we schedule a time to “connect”. Jesus, I hate it. I don’t want to connect, Kate. Please, go away. PM me on Slack if you have any question. How do I politely convey this without being rude and hurting their feelings? #officelife #workplace
I would meet once probably for a 30 minute chunk (schedule something after) . Pull focus onto work stuff mainly. And then in the future when they ask (hopefully they never do again because you focused intently on work stuff) - just claim you’re swamped. You should send the invite so you control what’s going on.
Posting a thread on Blind that names them is not a polite way to do it. Poor Kate!
Ask to set an agenda. Connecting with folks can be useful because it helps with preventing misunderstanding later down the road when the other person you work with knows you a bit better.
Hey, I'm swamped with work right now but we can have a quick chat sometime soon.
I'm in the opposite situation. Want to connect with people, don't want to bother them with scheduled meetings :(
Are you sure she’s not doing this to discuss something specific? I can’t picture myself or any of my colleagues scheduling time to “hang out” virtually for no reason. Perhaps she has something that she wants to confide in you but doesn’t want to discuss it in writing (hence no email/slack).
What would u do at work if this happened. U may say no I have too much work this week, I'll let u know of I'm ever free. Or u just entertain a conversation with them as two functional human beings working on the same team. You really have nothing to lose by just talking to ppl for a bit I have no idea why u seem to feel so strongly about this. If they want to connect make sure u figure out first if it's work related or just for like virtual coffee chat or something. If it's work related it's part of ur job of being a team player to entertain a conversation.
Always accept the first request, then ask for an agenda for any future connects if the purpose isn't clear. Most people have a hard time working with someone they haven't socialized with. It is also possible she needs your advice with dealing with a coworker or project or she has some feedback for you that is best not to have in writing.
Does this colleague wants to connect offline? If so tell them that you aren’t going anywhere because COVID
Nope, it’s online connection.
just accept the connection request. it’s awkward because if you don’t