Introverts living in an extroverts world, and how to navigate it

We live in a time where you are surrounded by people, and are forced to work alongside new individuals. Some of us experience this daily, others per project. Even going on errands, you have to interact with people you have never met before. This forces a certain etiquette called small talk or, at times, having to speak up and fight for your ideas and voice to be heard.

Shift from Agricultural to Corporate Environment

We used to live in an agricultural society where we worked alongside people we knew very well. Day in and day out, working with a small number of people in the fields growing or producing food that we knew so well. Then so-called civilisation came about, cities boomed, and everyone left the farming life to chase money in the cities. This dramatic change of prioritised work created the corporate environment. An environment where the loudest get heard the most, and the most social climb the income ladder. Real meaningful work doesn't get rewarded; only high-school social hierarchies do. This left many introverts behind.

Did you know that it’s not just social interactions that drain an introvert’s energy? Overly stimulating environments exhaust us as well. - Michaela Chung

I personally haven't had a pay raise in over three years. I am effectively getting paid less every year because of inflation. This all comes down to the fact that I don't have my nose covered in shit up someone's ass, kissing it in hopes of a promotion. This environment was built for extroverts to thrive in; it was never intended for us introverts to succeed. Just think about the new work enviroment trends, open classroom planning and open offices, hot desk, Google and Apple influenced in their work environments, and so everyone followed like dodo birds. They say it helps with collaboration, but in fact, it only hinders the introvert in doing true work.

Introvert's sensitivity to over-stimulating environments

“People experiencing attention residue after switching tasks are likely to demonstrate poor performance on that next task,” and the more intense the residue, the worse the performance. The concept of attention residue helps explain why the intensity formula is true and therefore helps explain Grant’s productivity. By working on a single hard task for a long time without switching, Grant minimizes the negative impact of attention residue from his other obligations, allowing him to maximize performance on this one task… the attention residue concept is still telling because it implies that the common habit of working in a state of semi-distraction is potentially devastating to your performance. [2]

This state of fragmented attention cannot accommodate deep work, which requires long periods of uninterrupted thinking. - Deep Work by Cal Newport

How does one thrive in an extroverted world that tells us we need to promote ourselves, sell ourselves, brand ourselves, and build a business around our identity? It honestly feels like a losing game. All the cards are stacked against us, and all we can do is watch from the sidelines, seeing extroverts jumping ahead of us and ultimately turn this world to shit because the ones running it are reactive instead of internalised intellectuals. Every successful person has to have some form of arrogance or narcissistic tendencies to get ahead in this current world.

Taking control of personal growth and work ethic in an unfair world

So we need to do what is best for us and not the system. I'm a writer and photographer for a reason; it keeps me out of the spotlight. I'm more interested in what is happening in front of me, rather than asking 'what is in it for me.' Because of this, I do my job; I'm getting better at my job every day—higher quality, more efficient. But that isn't enough to get ahead in this world. You have to sell yourself. I say, no, fuck that! Instead, I'm taking my pay raise into my own hands, with regards to effort and time. I'm going to give less effort to my job; I'm going to spend less time at a desk. And effectively take a pay raise from outputting work ethic because HR doesn't give a shit about me. I'm just a number on a spreadsheet, and if that number doesn't go up substantially, or influenced by personal social interaction, I will never get ahead.

Introvert's strength in being overlooked

This is where introverts can thrive; no one notices us; we are always left on the edges of a room. Our voices are rational, but never heard. So what I suggest is to use that to your advantage. I have heard of people that are never noticed in the corporate world, so they just left and still got a paycheck (this is effectively stealing). But it's interesting that it happens. Sure, I might be working less, but so are the extroverts that socialise 80% of their job and leave early to get work drinks. It's the same thing.

Emily's experience, navigating workload perception

Here is a story for you to rap your head around: Emily works 40 hours a week in the operations department at a major fintech company. In reality, Emily works one hour a day at most. But who would say ‘Hey, I haven’t been doing much of anything this whole time, I need more to do’? Why would you want to draw attention a lack of work you have to do. Bring this situation into the light, is only going to give you more work and responsibilities without reward. "I don’t have a problem with being asked to do work; it’s just I’m not really being asked." there’s a percentage of every jobs that’s bullshit, and in this case, that’s 90 percent of Emily, and more power to her. [3]

Adaptation strategies for introverts

The era of living in an agricultural society is over, and the "me, me, me, look at me, my opinion matters" is flourishing. So as introverts, we need to go back to what we do best—internalised thinking. We need to find a way to get our time back, understand what we are good at, and identify platforms and environments that work best for our personalities. Hunker down and do the personal work, regardless if anyone is watching, because let's face it, they aren't watching us. And that is our power. we are the shadow in the night, the wolf in sheep's clothing. We can do whatever we want because of that very fact. I want to leave you with this: it's an extrovert's world, so let them take centre stage, and always remember, it's the nail that sticks out that gets the hammer. Stay introverted.

Footnotes
[1^]: introvertspring.com
[2^]: Deep Work by Cal Newport
[3^]: vox.com