Empty offices

Hello, I recently started a Lecturer position at a very good university in the UK. While everything is going well overall, I’ve been quite disappointed with the atmosphere in the department. To put it simply, there’s no sense of community. I hardly ever see my colleagues. Some don’t even say “hi”. The only people around on a daily basis are the PhD students and the teaching fellows. The postdocs are never around, and the professors (lecturer, reader, full) come in to teach and then leave. That’s during teaching periods—outside of those times, the place is completely empty.

The problem is that for new staff, information doesn’t circulate well about all the things we need to learn. I don’t have colleagues nearby that I can turn to in the corridor to ask a quick question, for example. In three months, I’ve only had one lunch with colleagues. It seems to be the same in other departments too. I found this aspect really difficult at first; now I’m starting to get used to it and even see some advantages. However—and this is why I’m reaching out—I’d like to know whether this is specific to my university or something more common across the UK, especially in London but not only there.

Thanks