7 Reasons INFJs and INFPs Have Problems in Traditional Workplaces
#1 — The Lighting Makes Us Want to Die
INFJs and INFPs are extremely sensitive not only to bright light, but also to different qualities of light. We especially don’t do well under fluorescent lights. Light that is too harsh, too cold, or has a sickly color tone to it can give us headaches and send our mood into a downward spiral, fast.
Although this has been changing in the last few years, many traditional workplaces still use fluorescent lighting and give no thought to how the quality of light in an environment affects the energy of the people forced to be in that environment.
#2 — Open-Office Plans Send Us into Sensory Overwhelm
“Open-office plan” might mean one big room divided up into cubicles, or you might not even get the cubicles. I once worked in an office where desks were all joined together, with every desk being fitted with a barrier that was only five inches high. This was presumably supposed to give one the feeling of being divided from their coworkers, but obviously it didn’t work because it didn’t shield any of us from anything.
In an open-office plan, you hear your coworkers talking, typing, chewing, sipping, and slurping. You also hear cell phones ring and buzz, water from water coolers trickling into mugs, doors opening and shutting, and any other sound reverberating through the one big room. For an INFJ or an INFP this is auditory torture. Plus, we feel like we’re being watched.
#3 — Team Meetings Are Almost Always Time-Wasters
INFJs and INFPs work best on our own, being self-directed, following our intuition, with no checking in on us, or checking up on us. We also feel drained in groups. Team meetings combine both of these horrible areas into one big annoyance. In a team meeting, we often feel micro-managed, expected to speak up more (which we hate), and like we have to sit through everyone else talking about nothing important.
INFJs hate wasting time because we’re focused on personal productivity, and INFPs like to hoard time because they see it as part of their package of personal freedom. So, both types can’t help but feel that team meetings are time-wasting black holes that will never end. And we also find them extremely boring.
#4 — We Are Natural Questioners
As people who live life through our intuition, we naturally test every perspective we could adopt in any situation. And if we don’t know why, then we can’t move forward. Traditional workplaces thrive with employees who don’t question the rules and follow procedure without thinking about it, something that’s incredibly difficult for either an INFJ or an INFP to do.
When we bring our natural questioning ability to situations that seek to suppress questioning, we end up being seen as contrary and contradictory, and also as troublemakers and difficult people. This triggers us on a deep level, because this is how most INFJs and INFPs were seen in childhood.
#5 — We Don’t Understand Surface-Level Social Chatter
Talking about concrete-world, physical-object, here-and-now things is hard for INFJs and INFPs. We don’t organize any kind of material (objects or ideas) according to traditional systems, we organize them based on the web we’ve built in our own minds. We also don’t care what kind of car you just bought, what kind of mileage it gets, or what kind of house renovation you’re thinking of starting. We often have trouble even finding our own car, or house, much less devoting any attention to what other people are doing with theirs.
Talking about ground-level physical life is tiring for INFJs and INFPs, because we have to consciously think about how to do it. When we can move into what we are unconsciously good at — abstract ideas, theoretical concepts, future projections, imaginary worlds and what-if’s — we start feeling energized and alive again. Sadly, traditional workplaces don’t really resonate with any of those areas.
#6 — Politics and Games Make Our Skin Crawl
INFJs and INFPs don’t judge people based on their appearance, title, status in society, income level, popularity, or the power they have over other people. We judge based on essence, and on character. Since we don’t treat people differently based on what rung they currently inhabit on any ladder, we find it nearly impossible to understand why people are even interested in climbing the ladder in the first place.
Most of us also feel a deep, almost physical revulsion when faced with lying, cheating, manipulation, or the exploitation of others, and if we see this happening in real-time, among real people who we have to be around, we can become distressed, and ultimately, despairing.
#7 — The Reward Center of Our Brain Doesn’t Work Like It Does in Most Other People
Most people in mainstream society have a brain that seeks extrinsic rewards: money, prizes, achievement-focused accomplishments. Most people in mainstream society also like to receive attention for these things. INFJs and INFPs are the opposite. We don’t feel all that “rewarded” by extrinsic rewards. In fact, a lot of the time, they mean nothing to us.
INFJs and INFPs are driven by intrinsic rewards, and we are more relationship-oriented than achievement-oriented. What matters to us is being in integrity with our true values, feeling in alignment with our true nature, and following our true purpose. There is a reason that “true” showed up three times in this list, because TRUTH is what INFJs and INFPs are after, and nothing less.
I talk about these kinds of topics for INFJs and INFPs every week in my email newsletter, and if you have a question about personality type, personal growth, or any other kind of wondering about life in general, you can send it my way and I’ll add it to my list of questions to be answered. You can sign up for my email newsletter here, and you can send your questions to lauren@laurensapala.com.
