Moved to London for work but I’m really unhappy with the culture, what to do?
I started a new job in London about 1.5 years ago but I’m honestly not really happy. Not with the work itself though, I actually really like what I’m doing. It’s the same type of tasks I did in my previous company and the same systems, so the job itself is fine.
I left my old company in Germany because I wanted to move to London (my partner is also in the UK). And this might sound a bit weird but my previous company was honestly the best place I’ve ever worked. I would have never left it if I didn’t want to relocate.
The main difference is the work culture. At my old company, it genuinely felt like I was meeting friends every day rather than going to work. We had team events, company events, lunches together, social stuff of all kinds (not just drinking) and it really felt like a proper team.
My current company is completely different. Everybody finishes work on time and just goes home. There’s barely any structure, I don’t really belong to any team and I’m basically working alone while supporting different departments. It feels like I’m helping everywhere but not actually part of any department or team.
I also work in a male dominated environment but of course there are still lots of women. However, I’m kind of left out. We never go for lunch together (maybe once a year) and the only social event is a Christmas party which isn’t even that great. It’s just not very social at all.
After 1.5 years, I still haven’t really made a single friend or someone I can properly talk to at work. There are days where I don’t speak to anyone at all. I honestly feel quite lonely at work. On top of that, the company is quite rigid and old school: no flexible hours, no real home office, just a bit boring overall.
The hard part is I’m on a Skilled Worker visa, so it’s not super easy to just jump to another company that would sponsor me. But at the same time, I’m not happy and I really miss my old company. Since moving to London, I feel like I haven’t really had a good time here yet. I still don’t know many people here and my routine is basically just work, go home, eat, sleep.
I really don’t know what to do at this point. Try to find another company? Try to speak to my manager? Or is it even worth it if I can’t really change the whole company culture?