The Student Room Group

social awkwardness, greeting rules?

basically i work in a place where i walk around parts of the building a lot, and my colleques are also walking around a lot. so we walk past each other, and i feel really awkward.

obviously if you work with someone or they are the manager , you would greet them if you havent seen them that day/its the start of the shift. however, when we start walking past each other i dont know where to ignore them, think of something to say, say hello, i just dont know.


i dont mind people in other departments because i dont work with them and dont know them so ill just maybe smile, say hello , sometimes just ignore. however when it comes to colleques, im clueless. maybe its because im not really that close to a lot of them so i cant think of a passing comment, whereas if its a mate, u usually have something to say.

i get the impression that some of them find it awkward too as when i see them coming my way, they kind of stop to go another direction or something.

i just dont know what feels normal. ignoring feels rude, saying hello feels weird because wev been together throughout the day, smiling also feels abit formal, like something you do with a stranger.
Reply 1
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Reply 2
Lol you should learn from Japanese!
Reply 3
I know what you mean about this being weird, its easy to end up saying something stupid and then you kick yourself! Say hi the first time you see them in a day, the rest of the time just smile. Smiling doesn't seem formal to me, I mean if you saw someone you knew just in the street you would smile wouldn't you?
Reply 4
Original post by LolaLowe
I know what you mean about this being weird, its easy to end up saying something stupid and then you kick yourself! Say hi the first time you see them in a day, the rest of the time just smile. Smiling doesn't seem formal to me, I mean if you saw someone you knew just in the street you would smile wouldn't you?


you would normally speak to people you know though, not just smile. smiles are usually for people who u make eye contact with but u dont actually know, just as a way of saying that u mean no harm
Ask if there following you if it's like the third time you've walked pass them that day


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