DEAR MISS MANNERS: I’m a new employee at a large company. How do I respond to nosy co-workers asking about where I previously worked? I want to be polite, but I feel my privacy is being invaded. GENTLE READER: Expecting your co-workers to stick to business is entirely reasonable, and Miss Manners would understand if you found questions about your personal life to be intrusive. DEAR MISS MANNERS: Strangers want to make small talk with me while waiting in grocery checkout lines, at bus stops, at the bank, during flights, etc.