We had a guy in our outfit that always came around wanting to chat about last night’s ball game, political developments, adventures on his way to or from work, you name it, even favorite foods and recipes.
He would go from desk to desk or cubicle to cubicle in a very engaging manner. It was hard to ignore him and I didn’t want to hurt his feelings.
Eventually I realized what he was up to. He felt so purposeless, powerless, bored, and frustrated that he unconsciously invented a way to get back at the organization for all his suffering: take time away from his work by chatting with colleagues. And to hand the outfit a double whammy, take other people away from their work at the same time!
Having friendly pals at work is clearly essential, and that takes some conversation. But it can become an unconscious obsession to punish the agency.
You might want to rehearse a few phrases that will send your chatterbox on her/his way, like, “sorry, I’ve got to finish this work before lunch,” or “the boss is waiting for this”, or “lemme catch you later.” Or you can just look real intently at what you’re working on and they may catch the hint.
Good luck!
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Re: chatterboxes. That may not be the reason at all. I am a chatterbox. I do not feel the way you stated. One is I am a friendly person and like to find out about other people. It has nothing to do with punishing where I work! I love it here.! Maybe the person does not have a good support system outside of work and is looking for it at work. Or just wants to have friends. Whatever it is, the odds are that it is what you said are minimal. Please explore more options before sentencing the person. I will not read more of your blog after that inconsiderate and insensitive view.
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