Haveo · Social anxiety at work

Work socials you cannot skip again

Go early, stay an hour, leave cleanly. Arriving at the start is much easier than walking into a room that is already loud and grouped, and an hour at the beginning counts as having been there far more than two hours at the end.

Early is the whole trick

The first twenty minutes are the easy ones: few people, no formed groups, and conversations start because you are standing near someone.

The version people dread — walking into a full loud room and having to break in — is the version you get by arriving late.

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An hour is a full attendance

Nobody audits the length. What registers is whether you came, and whether you spoke to anyone properly.

Two real conversations and out is a better night than three hours near the wall, and it is the version you will agree to repeat.

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Have a job

Get the first round, help with the food, look after whoever is newest. A role removes the question of what to do with yourself and gives you a reason to move.

Looking after a new colleague is the best one: it is genuinely useful and it is a conversation with a built-in subject.

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Leaving

"I am going to head off — good to see you" to whoever you are with. You do not need to find everyone, and you do not need a reason.

Decide the time before you go rather than in the moment, which is how an hour becomes three and the whole thing becomes something to dread next time.

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Declining sometimes

You can skip things. The cost is only real if you skip all of them, because that does eventually get noticed. Pick the ones that matter and go to those properly.

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Rehearse it before you walk in.

Haveo builds your intro, lets you practice out loud with an AI coach, and keeps your notes one tap away in the room. Free on iPhone and iPad.

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Common questions

Do I have to drink?
No, and it is barely noticed now. Hold something — the glass answers the question before anyone asks it.
What if I have nothing to say to my colleagues?
Ask about the thing they are working on, or the commute, or the weekend. Work socials run on ordinary small talk, not on wit.
Is it career-limiting to skip them?
Skipping some, no. Skipping all of them tends to show up as being seen as distant, which is a slower cost but a real one.
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