Rethinking Stereotypes: A New Look at Introverts and Extraverts in the Workplace

I’ll admit my bias about personality types in the workplace. I’ve never felt that common notions about Introverts preferring to work alone or Extraverts wanting to work with lots of people completely matched reality. Stereotypes can be misleading, and I worry that skewed assumptions about personality types can harm people if, for example, they’re kept in or from certain job roles.

What’s the solution? Knowledge and reason, of course – what else would you expect an Architect (INTJ) like me to say? So we composed our “Social Contact” survey (go take it and see how you compare!) to better understand how social contact affects Introverts and Extraverts, and here, I’ll share some of the work-related results. What motivates people and helps them do their best? Are the stereotypes true?

The data surprised me, confirming certain things while also shaking up many assumptions. I invite you to rethink your views as we look at some of the results of this survey – especially if you’re in charge of other people at work.

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