Can Being Introverted Hold You Back in the Workplace?

Introverted individuals are those who do not crave the company of others. Usually, they're quite happy to be left alone with their thoughts and to focus on doing their own thing. You would think that this would be of benefit to a workplace environment. Often, introverts are creative, good problem solvers and industrious. However, overall, it appears that this is an extrovert's world. The education system is geared more towards individuals who are loud, outgoing and confident. If a child is reserved and barely says a word, this is regarded as a negative, and so it continues through an individual's adolescence and adulthood. Whether you're an introvert or extrovert will affect your relationship and career choices, and it isn't something you can change.

There are some introverts who can put on a facade of being extrovert, but usually this is only for a short period of time. Introverts generally find that being thrown into social situations is a rather draining experience. Clearly, this can have a detrimental impact on your career prospects and hold you back in the workplace. In order to get a job, you first have to attend an interview and blow your own trumpet, telling your interviewer about how good you are working as part of a team and that you're a people person. However, if you're not a very good liar, it can be rather challenging to sell this to a potential employer. Plus, if you do get the job, you then have to actually deal with people on a daily basis.

Obviously, how successful you are will depend on the kind of job you choose. If you decide on a career where your introversion is an asset rather than a liability, such as in the creative field, the chances are you will be able to progress. If, however, your job requires you to interact with lots of people and to sell your ideas to other individiuals, it may be more difficult and when promotion time comes around, you may find that you're always the one that is overlooked. The situation isn't fair, but extroverts are able to convince people of their superior people skills, even if the reality is that they just talk a lot of hot air. Introverts are less inclined to put forward their views, even if the points they want to make are relevant.

Ultimately, this is a competitive world and everyone is fighting for something - whether it's status, money, or power - and quite often it is extroverts that are deemed more successful. There are plenty of successful introverts, but you are less likely to know about their success, anyway, because they tend to keep themselves to themselves and avoid frivolous chatter. On the filp side, being an extrovert doesn't automatically lead to success, although extroverts may be better at portraying themselves as more successful than they really are based on a narrow range of criteria that they equate with success. It seems that being introverted does limit your career choices and can hold you back in the workplace, but that doesn't necessarily have to be the case.