I also like to separate my work and personal life. I don’t often enjoy small talk and still find I suck at it after years in the work force. I would rather work from home and not deal with people.

All that said, humans are tribal creatures who need interaction with others. I’ve found remembering names, asking them how their day is going, and showing a -vague- interest in them as a person is enough to get by most of the time. Even if I don’t “want” to do it.

“Hey you said you were going golfing, how did that go?”

“Yeah, I spent most of the weekend doing chores and catching up on house projects.”

“Have you seen the latest Netflix show?”

“Im not much into sports, but I heard our team is doing pretty well this year.”

People remember those that treat them like a person. They also remember those that ignore them or otherwise invalidate them by not talking to them. If you want to have a job where you interact with people, you have to play the game.