Maybe im missing something but what is so strange about that? Once you stopped training them and thanked you, what else are they supposed to thank you for everyday?
That said, you better believe I Do take the extra 5 seconds to say hi to my bosses when I pass them.
I still think it is completely normal to figure out who your close coworkers are and settle into a group after a few days.
I think it is more about organizational structure and immediacy than anything else, unless someone is actively rejecting a greeting.
I work in a department of 100, and have met just about everyone. It would be extremely weird, not to mention distracting to say high to everyone when I walk to my desk. I don't think I am an outlier in that I prioritize greeting in this setting. Yes, that means I'm probably not going to single out some intern that I worked with for a couple days.
I don't think that makes me a psychopath, and it doesn't mean I wouldn't chat with them in an elevator or some similar 1:1 circumstance.
All you have to do is attempt to make eye contact and smile.
High quality work and facilitating the same in others is a far more courteous gesture than any awkward smiles.
Are you autistic?
The vast majority of people appreciate a little eye contact and a smile which is literally the least you can do to acknowledge that they're human and not a piece of furniture.
But I think most would still try to work with them to improve in good faith because that's work. The smile is irrelevant. The happiness comes when you've helped train them up. Then the smile actually means something.
On the flip side, would you feel appreciated or intimidated by a coworker who smiles at you yet carries all that soft power of deep knowledge and skills nobody else at that workplace has?
Smiles can mean a lot more than shallow acknowledgement especially in the workplace. At a social gathering though, sure the smile is just friendly.
>But I think most would still try to work with them to improve in good faith because that's work. The smile is irrelevant.
The OP mentioned walking past a hundred peoples' desks. Do you really need to feel appreciated by a hundred random coworkers to act like a decent human being?
No... ? Where did you get this impression?
Anyway I think we're approaching a learning moment in work culture differences.
Anyone who does heads down work expresses appreciation through competence and willingness to help. When you're in a tight spot and need a solution, getting that help is better than all the smiles in the world. That's teamwork. You can genuinely smile after. I'm not against smiles. I'm just saying they don't mean anything in and of themselves.
Maybe you rubbed a raw nerve because you made me think of those cheesy appreciation e-cards I remember from a previous job a while back. That's about as soulless as it gets.
Smiling usually doesn't, and shouldn't, get you anywhere.
I remember all my (good) instructors.
More so if the lesson was 2 days ago.
Heck, janitorial staff should get more than ignored.
So yeah, odd to drop into such a divide.
If everyone is rushed and miserable, they aren't going to be throwing out pleasantries as they rush through the halls.
OP: > they stopped saying hello or even talking to me
The OP said they completely stopped talking, which is weird to not acknowledge someone you previously would talk to. Seems like sociopathic behavior to me, which these professions tend to attract. They got what they wanted/needed out of the relationship and now could care less.
Languages are full of phrases that get used so often the original meaning gets lost organs others that are heading that way. Raining cats and Dogs is ancient and nobody is quite sure where it came from, but as long as people understand intent there’s no need for to add up correctly.
Words with opposite meanings can end up converging. ‘That’s cool’ and ‘that’s hot’ sometimes have the exact same meaning depending on context.
But the correct formulation is a shrugging question "I could care less?", with the implication that the care-meter is already pegged at zero.
given how cheap is to say hello, and maybe get some advantage from this in the future, this is not very smart sociopathic behavior.
But this maybe be result of culture differences: some people grew up in culture where work is work(with all protocols, like saying hello to coworker), and personal life (interhuman behaviour) is something separate.
Yeah professions like finance both attract and reward sociopathic behavior.