how do I become the dullest, most boring coworker so this needy man leaves me alone?

He’s an energy vampire. Tread carefully.

Headphones. Headphones are an excellent tool for isolation in a workplace because they don't raise objections or cause friction like saying you're uninterested but they tend to be very effective at deflection.

Just get a nice big obvious pair of headphones and put them on when he might come by and, if he waves or something just immediately respond with "Sorry, I'm in the middle of this can you message me?"

I think there are diplomatic ways for you to express your preference. You could say: “I don’t mean to be rude, but I prefer to really stay focused at work and socializing can drain my battery or distract me for a while afterward. Is it all right with you if I keep to myself for the most part?”

He’s obviously taking your behavior as a sign that he’s done something wrong, and not just your preference for how you like to be at work. He’s probably trying to fix it or improve relations with you, and this is making it worse. The standoffish behavior you’re showing him is feeding his sense that there’s a problem he needs to address with you, so take a different tack.

I once had a co-worker like this named Andrew. One morning, while he scrambled to fill any moments of silence, I told him “Andrew, silence is ok sometimes” and went back to my work. He was significantly less annoying to work with afterwards.

I probably came off as a bit of a dick, though it wasn’t my intention.

These sound like bread and butter small talk type work interactions.

Just gonna be blunt... meditating at work and adopting a yoga like position is going to attract attention and will invite co-workers to enquire after your well being.

If this guy is your biggest problem at work then you have a pretty great job.

If you're a guy, I have found treating these interactions as mindfulness exercises is helpful. If you're a woman, he's in love with you, I'm sorry.

Buy a Subaru and a nice pair of Doc Martens.

People like him are dangerous.

For the love of God, do not directly say it to this person, speak to HR or your supervisor and tell them you are feeling harassed at work and can't do your job.

If you say anything to the man all he's going to conclude is that you are against him, and his paranoia will kick in, and he will make problems for you that you can't anticipate.

Bring or get some large ear covering headphones. Wear them all the time regardless of if you are listening to anything. Ignore attempts to distract. Practice and say, “sorry, focused right now” and go back to work.

You are this way because you are maintaining professionalism. Your coworker is being unprofessional by over sharing. Set your boundaries fast and firm.

If I may rephrase what I’m reading: You don’t want to tell him to leave you alone because you would be upset if someone told you that.

Here’s the thing: you don’t know that will upset him. TL;DR of the rest of my post: he probably won’t take it the way you would, and I highly recommend being straightforward with him.

I suggest reading about the difference in Ask Culture vs Guess Culture. Those of us who grew up in a guess culture manage our own actions based on what we think will be acceptable to those around us and won’t even initiate something if it would be deemed inappropriate, so it’s rare we have to be told “no”. Those in ask culture will just ask and be totally fine if told no, because they haven’t already done the pre-work to figure out if their request will be approved.

One of the best lessons I’ve had in the past few years is that other people don’t respond like me. I mean, that should be obvious. But it came up in the context of being a manager at work with an underperformer. I would be devastated if my boss told me I was not doing well at my job, and so I was terrified of telling my direct report that. I communicated the gaps in her specific actions for months, but we finally got to a point where I needed to have the conversation that I didn’t think the role was the right fit for her. It was one of the hardest days in my career. And she thanked me for it!

I was so scared because I was imagining how I’d feel hearing what I was going to say. But she’s not me! And instead of being upset, she felt relief to hear someone else say it.

You’re afraid of being rude, and that shows you have compassion and care for others. But I bet you that this coworker of yours just needs to be told, and not communicating with him is actually less kind.

A quote from a favorite book series of mine is a take on our “golden rule” through an alien culture: “The Iron Rule: Treat others less powerful than you however you like. The Silver Rule: Treat others as you’d like to be treated. The Golden Rule: Treat others as they’d like to be treated.”

I don't think there's any need to be rude. Just tell him you appreciate that he wants to make sure you're alright, but that you're just not a very talkative person and you quite enjoy silence. You can say it's nothing personal, but that's just who you are and you'll let him know if one day for whatever reason you are not fine. If you're feeling generous you can ask him to do the same, but that is a potential commitment.

Unspoken expectations are pre-meditated resentments.

No one seems to be mentioning what I suspect might be the problem here

He’s a man and you’re a woman, is this the case ? and he will NOT leave you alone. I don’t blame you for not mentioning that part, given all the bullshit that straight guys do.

If that’s the case: this is an issue for HR and when they don’t believe you, it’s an issue for a lawyer (because then they might believe you)

Why do people seem to have such a hard time with being direct? Just tell him to leave you alone, if you hurt his feelings it's not your problem.

Tell him you have trouble focusing on your work if you stop to talk too often. Tell him you’re trying to finish x, y, z, etc, and after doing that enough hopefully he gets the message.

Take up skiing and make that your entire personality

"Please, leave me alone."

Nicely, no more than 2 episodes.

If additional episodes occur:

"Please, leave me alone or I'll complain to HR."

Just tell him you don't talk a lot because you need to concentrate at work and you always keep it professional because you wanna separate work and private life.

Small chance it might be awkward for a bit but he will respect it. Unless he is an asshole then you don't owe friendliness.

"Not now, I am busy"

"Great! I need to work now, see you around!'

You don't need to be boring - I am telling you, working woman to working woman, that is an ineffective strategy with determined guys. You need to convince him you do not have time for him in your full and interesting life.

It's the simple things in life... always the simple things. Have you ever said the simple things to him?

"Be quiet now."

"Leave me alone."

(and after his response, whatever it is, you be quiet yourself)

I’m torn because I want to tell him to leave me alone, that I don’t care about his life, but considering the ‘offense’ this seems too much and knowing me I’d immediately regret it and feel bad about it.

Imagine someone has a huge booger hanging out of their nose. It might be embarassing that you point it out to them, but it's a lot more embarassing if they walk around with the booger hanging there. It's the same with this. If you're polite but direct, there's nothing to feel bad about, you're helping the guy learn where the line is.

Show him your Warhammer figurines

Why am I like this?

Because different people are different. I am the same. I could not give 2 shits about my coworkers personal lives.

Us dudes are thick as bricks, put him on the backdoor by using some of these.

I'm in the middle of something, I wish you would stop interrupting me.

Dude, stop interrupting me.

No seriously, if you keep interrupting me I will have to talk to management about it.

If you're trying to salvage a work relationship and 'say the right things' I get it, but sometimes being blunt and abrupt is exactly what's needed. Something short but courteous like 'its always great catching up but I need to get to work' or even more direct like 'im sorry but I don't have time to be doing this in the mornings and these conversations are putting me behind on my work.' or if this isn't a situation where you're trying to preserve a work relationship go the abrasive route and state that you've tried to be kind but if he doesn't stop talking to you you'll be forced to go to HR. You have protections for exactly this situation if you do report to HR.

What did he say when you directly told him to leave you alone and give you more space?

How about direct communication? Saying you don't like talking about non work related stuff at work is not rude. Saying you are not interested in a conversation right now is also not rude.

Rude would be to disregard your request and tbh I find the methods you tried quite rude.

They sound a lot like an ex colleague of mine who had aspergers. They latched on to me because they got promoted to a different team in the same office as me when i got promoted and they would not stop talking to me, and about the most inane and mundane shit. Stuff i didnt gove a fuck about

I would be polite i would answer and engage in the conversation but if it had been too long and i felt managers eyes in the back of my head i would just fizzle out and start to turn back to my screen and say something like "ok, well, i need to get on" and they would go away.

I believe they were this way because of aspergers. They could never tell when i was uninterested or when i was busy with something. They didn't pick up on social cues. They just kept talking.

I wonder if it's a similar reason with your colleague?

Nobody here noticed the tinny little fact that you seem to be a woman. One that works out and attracts attention (i.e. your story about a dude eyeing you in the park). The coworker might simply find you attractive.

"I am focused on task x and cannot talk to you".

Does he have a job to do or is he just there to pester people with smalltalk?

Have you tried telling him.. to leave you alone?

I’m torn because I want to tell him to leave me alone, that I don’t care about his life,

Tell them to leave you alone, that you don't care about their life.

I'm 100% serious. Just be honest if thats the way you feel. It sets up boundaries and if they are a sane person, they'll respect you for your honesty.

Short phrases like "I can't talk, I'm working" and "I don't really want to talk thanks."

Then ignore them until they leave.

I'd recommend practicing being direct, polite, and consistent. In the end you can't control his actions but you can control yours. If you need help then get help from a capable coworker or manager. Don't waste any time or energy feeling bad about it.

[email protected]

Everyone’s different, you sound like you may loathe this person, but regardless work is not recreation. If needless social interactions are impacting your ability to work, consider talking to your supervisor. Speaking directly to your coworker may offend, exacerbating the issue for you. Give your supervisor an opportunity to resolve it, who should have more experience and/or training in dealing with conflict.

I'm torn because I want to tell him to leave me alone, that I don't care about his life, but considering the 'offense' this seems too much and knowing me I'd immediately regret it and feel bad about it.

So instead you'll like youre ruder than you are, hoping he will eventually get it.

You don't think weeks of having to do this is making you feel worse than perhaps one night of feeling a bit sorry after telling him straight on?

And I know he will appreciate it eventually if the direct reaction isn't such. You will finally make sense to him. If you're being rude, ignoring him, why don't you understand that might make him want to bring you to a normal level of social contact. That he feels he's done something wrong by just being a chatty person.

Maybe just tell him you're sorry but you're not as chatty as him and would like to focus.

And yes, I have also done that to a worker. Told her I'm there to work, not to make friends. Kinda cold? I don't think so. Colleagues, not friends. Co-employees can be friends but don't need to.

You're not responsible for meeting this man's needs. You don't need to trick him. "Please leave me alone." If he does not do this simple thing, then you have not committed any offence and you can train yourself not to feel bad about it. You already meditate, so you might make your tendency to feel bad about this into an object of meditation.

Unfortunately, you can't control his behavior. He might still try to sit down next to you and talk to you about things that don't interest you. I don't know what more you can do than ask him to stop doing this and hope he complies. "Please stop doing this. I'm just not interested. I prefer to be alone." It is compassionate to say nothing more than this.

As for why you're like this, that's very likely because someone taught to you to care about other people's feelings and didn't teach you that their feelings are not your fault. This seems pretty common.

The stories you tell yourself about why he does this and the stories you tell yourself to explain your own behavior... they probably don't help you much, do they?

Peace.

Seems like you tried all the regular tricks in the book. Try telling your manager or HR and see if they can do something about it. You want to work and the company does alse but this guy clearly doesn't.

Well, sometimes people just don't ever get it and they need to be told to fuck off in very blunt words. I think that usually poisons the well and dries up further conversation, permanently. But I'm not sure if this is the case here. And that strategy possibly comes with other severe consequences. So I won't recommend it. The mild version of it is to just be direct and honest, skipping any overly kind phrasing.

Another strategy would be to have someone else talk to him... You yourself seem to be getting nowhere. But maybe he listens to other people, or they're somehow more gifted to get through to people like him.

What also sometimes works (depending on circumstances) are large headphones. They might be part of your work anyways, if you're doing online-meetings in the office, or you are allowed to listen to music... Either do that and you can't hear him anyways, or just put them on all day and say "Huh?" 200 times a day and see if he picks up on it. Though, this might not work if he's stupid, as well. Or he might start tapping you on the shoulder and invade your privacy even more... Idk. But headphones have worked for me in various situations. Especially if they're big and noticeable.

There’s something called “The Grey Rock Method” you may want to check out. This link is just from a quick search, there may be better sources out there:

https://psychcentral.com/health/grey-rock-method

I dont have an answer for you sorry, but i might be able to point you somewhere you might find inspiration to find your own answer

If there is a lemmy equivalent of the subreddits maliciouscompliance, pettyrevenge, prorevenge, or nuclearrevenge or you are willing to go look at the originals, theres a lot of stories that are entertaining and will be a mine of ideas

first you tell him you don't like to exchange more than a few sentences per person. then you tell him, he exceeded his limit for years, so you will not talk to him any more, except if it's a real business matter. then you don't reply, unless it's a real business matter, for the next few years.

The easy way: one word answers to everything. This can include just saying yup or nope to every response. I am the kind of person to lean in on obnoxious responses while very much not paying attention.

The hard way: get HR involved. Inappropriate attempts to get close to you count.

Example of solution 1: https://youtube.com/shorts/KdmMiZqskzc?si=AxAqzBSU3nYYvOS2

Just tell Brendan to shut up.

"Excuse me"?

"Pardon"?

Blank look. Shrug, turn around, go back to reading.

Whenever he asks you something start off by staring at him with a blank emotionless stare for an uncomfortable amount of time, (20 or 30 seconds or so) tilting your head from side to side while you make eye contact with him and finally give him a simple one word response. If he continues talking keep direct eye contact and start making confused expressions on your face (like why are you still talking to me) then do everything you can to make the situation as awkward as possible. If he starts talking about himself or family or whatever make sure you interrupt him as much as possible even talking over him if necessary. Make up a weird uncomfortable story or start rambling on about some wild conspiracy like birds aren't real, the illuminati are controlling people's minds or maybe see if he'll come with you to a scientology seminar, the weirder the better.

"I get frustrated if my attention gets pulled away from what I'm doing, that's why I focus on my current task instead of talking to you guys"

Have you tried gushing?

Not just responding, and having a busy conversation, but just not stopping, even interrupting him.

It wouldn't be my first choice, I prefer direct honesty, but you already tried telling him you're working.

You could try even more directly saying that you don't want to talk casually at work, but that requires not doing so with anyone, or you might as well just tell him you don't like him and be done with it that way. Which is an option. He is someone you don't like, but I assume you're wanting to avoid that because it's work, so that's the absolute last option.

Holy shit, this is the very same people that later will tell you about how they will "eat the rich" and "deny, despise , defenestrate" (or whatever) every CEO they encounter.

All the meanwhile being incredibly socially stunted and so utterly incapable of even being direct with someone and talking over a perceived issue at work, one of the safest environments they'll have access to for human interactions.

Totally unhinged, dissociative and disconnected from reality behavior.

Offend him, who the fuck cares. Dude obviously doesn't give a shit about your time and energy, or boundaries. He doesn't respect you, so he deserves no respect in return.

Fight fire with fire. Figure out which topic he doesn’t care about, and start talking about it all the time. Like, literally all the time when he is in the vicinity.

Could be a new hobby like flying a kite or an obscure interest like the history green colors used in the textile industry. Ideally, you would pick something you can imagine yourself being passionate about. Look up some videos on how autistic people talk about their favorite topic, and you’ll get the idea.

Are you lactose intolerant? Can you fighter or the ideal amount of milk to drink such that you get the death toots but not the vanilla sharts? Next time he stops by, send him a stinky. A really foul one.