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New Hires Cliques Teamwork Inconsiderate Actions

I'm very new with this company. Around noon, I saw a couple of guys from my department heading out for lunch and I asked if I could join them. They seemed okay with that, but during the lunch they did not say one word to me. They only talked about things they had done together in the past. I was totally excluded and felt very foolish. Should I say something to them about their rudeness?



While the two buddies from your department could use some help in the etiquette department, you should not waste your time with this. In the first place, you are not likely to change them. Secondly, even if they say they will change, do you think that will really happen, and do you really want another lunch with them?

At this point, you should put the entire meal behind you. Presumably there are other people in the company, and you should give yourself a chance to get to know them and vise versa. With the passage of time, it will be very easy and natural for you to build a circle of friends at work.

Some companies try to help accelerate the process by encouraging employees to have lunch with new hires, since it is recognized that having friends at work can play a key role in determining employee satisfaction. Either way, give the process some time and you are likely to have your own network of friends soon enough. Hopefully you will have more to talk about than past experiences.





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