Why is it so hard to make friends at work?

[Anonymous]

I just got rehired at my old job. It’s a call center for a bank. The first 2 weeks, everyone bonded and became friends. Except for me. My first time working here, I made a ton of friends. But this time around, only like 2-3 people talked to me. And it was small talk.

Before anyone goes off on me. I’m dealing with my autism. I am a female. And I am a little awkward. I’m just feeling a little blue, I guess. Why is this so hard?

[Woke51]

"Before anyone goes off on me."

For some reason, you felt like you needed to protect yourself before anyone had even said anything. Why do you feel like people are going to 'attack' you?

This mindset is what repels people and makes it challenging for them to befriend you. It's 'me vs them' compared to 'me with them'.

[Asker]

I said that because I thought people would be like “who cares? You’re there to work”. It’s not a me vs them. It’s really just that some people don’t care about having friends at work.