I think I honestly come off as cold to many of my teammates. They’re doing the best to be nice, but part of me is kind of afraid that if I say something about myself, it will be used against me.
The strange thing is that this only really happens with my direct teammates or people I have to work with very often. The less I have to interact with someone on a business basis, the easier it is for me to engage in small talk.
I even notice this with my former workers (I’ve been at the same company for over a year, but have been with different departments in that team because I was in several temporary positions until my current permanent role). When I run into former coworkers including former bosses, small talk flows easier and it just kind of happens.
I know I don’t have to fit in perfectly and I do my job well, but I also don’t want to make my teammates feel like I hate them.
On a side note, I mentioned to a former boss how some people tend to feel that I’m cold because I just have “that look” when I’m spaced out or focused and she said that she doesn’t see that and it could just be an interpretation thing.