When I first entered the job market, it was mid-Covid. Not a great time, especially not when you’re fresh from university with no experience at all. Anyway, I went applying for jobs and it didn’t even go that bad. Of course, I had to send out many letters, but I also got invited to around 10 to 15 job interviews within only two months of searching. And most of those job interviews went quite well. However, there was one type of feedback that I received multiple times that I didn’t quite understand, which was that I was not extraverted enough. One interviewer literally said to me: ‘we have noticed that we work better with extraverted people around here’.
So, I went on a research spree. What does it mean being an extravert or introvert? And what effect does this have on your working life? Are employers right to think extraversion is a key quality for a successful employee?
Extravert vs. introvert
Let’s start with the first question. Quoting the Cambridge Dictionary, an extravert is ‘an energetic person who enjoys being with other people’ and an introvert is ‘someone who is shy, quiet, and prefers to spend time alone rather than often being with other people’. To be honest, I find these definitions quite biased. The extravert is described using positive terms, while the introvert is described using terms you may describe as negative. If a highly regarded and commonly used dictionary is already biased, how can you blame employers to be so?
Browsing a bit further than this dictionary I came across an article on healthline.com, that describes the characteristics of an extravert as following: You enjoy working in a group. You are always ready to try something new (note the formulation here: ‘always ready to’, which doesn’t suggest that introverts don’t enjoy trying new things, they just aren’t always ready for it). Talking through a problem often helps you solve it. You find it easy to express yourself. Spending time alone can drain you. You make friends easily.
Okay, now introverts: You consider things carefully. You prefer to avoid conflict. You’re good at visualizing and creating. You’re a natural listener. You need plenty of time for yourself. And then there is the option to fall in between these definitions, which is called an ambivert. Also other articles suggest it is more of a spectrum than a black or white matter.
From my own perspective I can tell you I am definitely not an extravert. I tick some boxes that are typically on the list of characteristics of an introvert. But I can also tell you I am not a shy person. I’m not afraid to speak my mind and share my opinion in a business meeting. I enjoy meeting new people, I like being surrounded by people, I know for sure that my job would be much more boring without having my colleagues around and I enjoy working with others just as much as working on my own.
To conclude this part, I think it’d be best to let go of the black and white approach of defining extraversion and introversion. We all have our own unique character with strengths and weaknesses, which cannot be defined based on two labels.
Impact on working life
While this limited view of extraversion vs. introversion may impact your impression at a job interview, it’s influence reaches further than that. Disregarded introverts can have a hard time in daily life at the office. To illustrate this, I have a few examples which you may either recognize or haven’t ever thought of at all.
First of all, there is the expectation of socializing. You have to attend the office parties, you have to socialize during lunch and at the coffee machine and if you don’t, you’re being overlooked or considered shy or boring. This constant expectation to socialize can be fun for one person, but exhausting for another.
Another concept that does not work for all types of people is the open office space. Where this concept is widely applied by employers in order to improve communication and collaboration, a noisy environment can also cause people to feel stressed and therefore be less productive.
The third phenomenon that can disadvantage some employees is the obsolete expectation to be present full time at the office. During Covid I actually started noticing the difference between working at the office and working from home. After a day at the office, my energy level is just high enough to make dinner and hang in front of the TV. However, after a day of working from home, I still felt energized enough to meet with a friend or go sporting. Why is it still the norm to work full time at the office and spend all your energy on your job?
Embrace all
In conclusion, introversion is often still viewed as a negative thing, which isn’t fair. People who identify themselves as introverts simply have other strengths and weaknesses as people who identify themselves as extraverts. But then again, doesn’t every single person have different strengths and weaknesses?
Let’s use these terms to understand one another and be able to be more considerate of each other, rather than use it to discriminate against the fact that they are not as extraverted as what seems to be the standard these days.
Thus, I’d like to use my last sentence to address all employers in the world: please widen your perspective on extraversion vs. introversion and rather build a workplace that accounts for all types of personalities. Because otherwise, you’d miss out on some great qualities.
Recognizable? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
