Why the Office Environment Is An Introvert’s Worst Enemy
By: Eglė Račkauskaitė
Tags: Remote Working, Workplace, Work Culture, Introvert, Office

Why the Office Environment Is An Introvert’s Worst Enemy

It’s the arsenic to an introvert’s creativity—and other issues with the physical office.

Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash

In the past few months, thousands of people lost jobs, and many more were sent to work from home.

The number of freelance job openings grew by 25% in the first months of the pandemic. People that have worked their whole lives at the office got to taste a remote work lifestyle.

Many were excited to spend more time at home, connect with their families, and avoid commuting and office fatigue. Regardless of the benefits of working remotely, people missed offices.

According to Gensler, 70% of the U.S. workforce wants to get back to the workplace.

I wondered who were the people that preferred the comfort of their homes. I can’t tell for sure, but I imagine they’re sensitive and introverted people.

I’m an introverted and sensitive person, which means I prefer my personal space and quiet working environment. I worked at the office for about a year, and only a few months in, I couldn’t stand it.

Now I know that there’s nothing wrong with not liking the office environment, even though many people enjoy it. Why?

Because the world is built for extroverts—so is the office. Open space, games, daily meetings, and brainstorming sessions favor the extroverted part of the workforce.

If you’re an introvert, don’t worry — there’s nothing wrong with you. It’s already difficult for introverts to live in the extroverted world, where most celebrated qualities belong to outgoing and assertive people.

It’s okay not to like the office (not the show, the show is hilarious) because it’s designed to kill introverts’ creativity and productivity. Here, a closer look at why.

The noise

I don’t know who came up with an open office idea, but that person definitely wasn’t an introvert. The constant noise can be distracting and irritating. To an introvert, it’s hard to imagine how anyone can work when two colleagues at the next table are chatting, a phone is ringing and someone is having a video call with a client.

Radius Global Market Research surveyed 2,000 employees across the U.S., U.K., and Australia. They found that 69% of the questioned workforces had problems concentrating at work because of the noise.

It might take up to 23 minutes to focus and get back to work after you’ve been distracted.

If you’re anything like me, you prefer quiet spaces such as your home or a library where you can hear your thoughts and focus on work without distractions.

Introverts aren’t always shy, but they perform better at peaceful, established spaces, or working with a small group of close people.

Competitive and dynamic environment

Many introverts can be competitive with the people they feel comfortable with, and when the competition doesn’t affect the relationship. Otherwise, competition feels tiresome and makes introverts feel depleted. Nowadays, offices tend to be dynamic and sociable yet highly competitive.

Some people might thrive on competition, but typically, not introverts. Many introverts struggle to openly express their strengths and communicate achievements, which comes as a disadvantage in a competitive office environment.

We prefer conquering our own achievements and presenting the results later. Pushing introverts to compete might cause them to withdraw and show worse results.

Photo by Mimi Thian on Unsplash

Someone’s behind your shoulder

I worked at the office for a short time, but I can’t count how many times I had a coworker hovering over my shoulder or a manager glancing at my work in passing.

It depends on the office and the management, but too often supervisors micromanage. Introverts can’t thrive when their boss or a colleague is always by their side lurking to correct or comment on something.

We have our process, and we will ask for help if we need it, but please—don’t disturb the process.

Micromanaging employees isn’t only nerve-wracking—it also kills creativity and individuality.

According to Kyosei Consulting, creative employees don’t react well to micromanaging. They tend to withdraw and lose a sense of accountability for their work.

People are creative, but creativity soon fades away when your boss thinks that the way you do your work isn’t good enough or that it has to be always corrected.

Forced relationships

Office relationships can be complicated for everyone. Besides the standard dose of daily drama, you get workplace drama, office relationships, gossip, playing favorites. That alone is enough to destroy a highly sensitive person’s will to work, but it worsens.

Many offices nowadays tend to play a family card—management encourages everyone to become a family. While a friendly and warm office environment can work for introverts, the family often only stands for the benefits for a company.

Introverts can easily spot ungenuine relationships, which bothers them a lot and builds tension.

You are a family when you have to work long hours without compensation. You’re a family when someone says inappropriate jokes. You’re a family when you have to do work outside your job description. But soon after you do your part, that family doesn’t share anything else with you.

9 to 5 isn’t for everyone

Whether you’re an introvert or extrovert, you probably know that 9 to 5 isn’t working anymore. How much of that time you actually work, and how much of it you just try to pass?

In my case, I’m the most productive in the morning, after lunch, I do the work that doesn’t require much energy. As a freelancer, I adjust my time and tasks to my body rhythm. I don’t sit at my desk for 4 more hours just so I would spend the right amount of time.

Yet I do as much work and maybe even more than an office employee. Why?

I use my productive hours and optimize my time. When you work at the office you have so much time to pass, you don’t want to finish everything in 3 hours. But then after lunch, you’re thinking about a couch and some dessert. And hey, if there are no deadlines, you probably can push it until tomorrow.