while I'm very tempted to follow this route, what do I tell them if 2 of them gang together with the contradictory info I fed them and confront me? 'I don't recall ever saying that, please let me work'?
It's even worse when your supervisor sometimes acts like one of these people.
I might just repeat like a broken record 'I don't want to talk about it and I hope you respect that'.
I still believe a nosy person will test this boundary, but I'll try it and see what happens.
Live your life according to your own schedule and speak your actual truth.
Last time I tried this approach they made me feel like shit and bullied me.
actually I don't agree.
To me this is deflection: they ask me something I don't want to answer, I lie to them and try to stay away from them: I don't disclose anything about me, they don't feel offended, don't start drama and leave me alone.
Gossips are gonna gossip no matter what I say, they need it, so I'd better disclose false information so they can attack me the least.
My strategy if they ask me again about my age if they suspect I lied to them or if they hear from other gossips my real age: lie again or say a ludicrous number. If they keep pestering me, remind them to go to work and go to work.
Sometimes I think I should work somewhere else.
I’ve never really had a problem.
then my coworkers are all busybodies who don't know what boundaries are.
Still, answering 'how old are you' with 'none of your business' seems overkill. I just want them to leave me alone.
everything's good, I didn't understand your /s
do you understand that this is an emotional response and it's kinda off to ask a person not to have trauma? do you think people like being bullied?
I don’t understand why you have to answer at all when someone asks your age
what would be your answer, when you don't want to disclose it?
thanks a lot for all of this, so many things I didn't even consider. I never thought they could be this dangerous. Petty and childish? Every day, but this dangerous? Nope. How naive of me.
As I guess you know, it's very tiring to pretend interest when they bore me. It’s really dawning to me that the best outcome would be to work entirely somewhere else or follow your advice and ask my supervisor not to make me work with them.
I’m not that convinced about fake bonding with the nosy ones, because, why would I do that? I have no trouble discussing the weather or recipes with the other 50%, it’s just this clique that’s… childish and immature. And I don’t go to work to feel stressed.