Introvert moment

[Andy in Germany]

I'm an introvert that works with people, which can be confusing. More confusing is that I don't act like I'm an introvert a lot of the time. I have responsibility for two departments in a workshop for people with psychological disabilities: one is where clean laundry is delivered and folded, the other is a wood workshop. The laundry has more clients and they tend to have more severe disabilities or learning difficulties.
It always takes a while to relax, but after a few months I regularly make an entrance in the laundry when I do my rounds: it comes naturally and I the clients appreciate it: folding towels all day isn't that exciting. I then go around an talk to the individual clients and see how they are, check up on problems and try to cheer them up. When I do this I'm making jokes with the person I'm talking to and sometimes people the other side of the room, smiling. laughing and being the life and soul of the laundry.
Then today there was a large (socially distanced) meeting of all the clients and staff. I had to sit at the front with the other staff, and promptly turned into a statue and could barely answer questions...
Am I the only introverted person who has this kind of experience?

 

[Mo1959]

I'm an introvert that works with people, which can be confusing. More confuding is that I don't act like I'm an introvert a lot of the time. I have responsibility for two departments in a workshop for people with psychological disabilities: one is where clean claundry is delivered and folded, the other is a wood workshop. The laundry has more clients and they tend to have more severe disabilities or learning difficulties.
It always takes a while to relax, but after a few months I regularly make an entrance in the laundry go I went in to do my rounds: it comes naturally and I could see the clients appreciate it: folding towels all day isn't that exciting. I then go around an talk to the individual clients and see how they are, check up on problems and try to cheer them up. When I do this I'm making jokes with the person I'm talking to and sometimes people the other side of the room, smiling. laughing and being the life and soul of the laundry.
Then today there was a large (socially distanced) meeting of all the clients and staff. I had to sit at the front with the other staff, and promptly turned into a statue and could barely answer questions...
Am I the only introverted person who has this kind of experience?

I was the same at work. Lord knows why I applied to join the prison service! Fortunately I carried it off reasonably well over my service. Usually managed to get a decent rapport with most of our clientele.

If I had my life over again, I would concentrate more on the sciences at school and would have been much happier maybe working with animals or in a lab environment where I could just work away pretty much on my own or part of a small team.

 

[oldwheels]

I was the same at work. Lord knows why I applied to join the prison service! Fortunately I carried it off reasonably well over my service. Usually managed to get a decent rapport with most of our clientele.

If I had my life over again, I would concentrate more on the sciences at school and would have been much happier maybe working with animals or in a lab environment where I could just work away pretty much on my own or part of a small team.

I was never very good accepting authority of any kind over me. When I was in the whisky business I was really my own boss most of the time and as long as I got results that worked out well and I enjoyed my job. We then got taken over and had to send detailed daily reports to head office when previously I was head office. Became self employed soon after and enjoyed the rest of my working life.

 

[Dayvo]

I'm more of an extrovert who hates working with people! 😜

 

[Drago]

Let to my own decices im an introvert. The army and particularly the police knocked it out of me, but I never completely changed and as time goes by im slipping back

 

[gbb]

You're not alone. Definitely an introvert but at work in the right surroundings I feel at ease, even with strangers, happy to chat and have a laugh if it's possible or appropriate. But put me with senior management, I do kinda lock up

 

[Dirk]

I'm an introvert that works with people, which can be confusing. More confuding is that I don't act like I'm an introvert a lot of the time. I have responsibility for two departments in a workshop for people with psychological disabilities: one is where clean claundry is delivered and folded, the other is a wood workshop. The laundry has more clients and they tend to have more severe disabilities or learning difficulties.
It always takes a while to relax, but after a few months I regularly make an entrance in the laundry go I went in to do my rounds: it comes naturally and I could see the clients appreciate it: folding towels all day isn't that exciting. I then go around an talk to the individual clients and see how they are, check up on problems and try to cheer them up. When I do this I'm making jokes with the person I'm talking to and sometimes people the other side of the room, smiling. laughing and being the life and soul of the laundry.
Then today there was a large (socially distanced) meeting of all the clients and staff. I had to sit at the front with the other staff, and promptly turned into a statue and could barely answer questions...
Am I the only introverted person who has this kind of experience?

It's a bit of a false dichotomy.
You are ignoring Omnivert and Ambivert personalities.
Look them up.......

 

[Deleted member 26715]

You are ignoring Omnivert and Ambivert personalities.

Isn't an Ambivert just a posh word for 'Normal'?

 

[Dirk]

Isn't an Ambivert just a posh word for 'Normal'?

Define 'normal'.

 

[Oldhippy]

I know exactly what you mean.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Define 'normal'.

Exactly

 

[Dirk]

Exactly

Near enough would do.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Near enough would do.

My only thought on that is looking at some people if they are 'normal' then I don't want to be. I'm not happy with myself, but I'm happier than I would be if I had to act like them.

 

[Dirk]

My only thought on that is looking at some people if they are 'normal' then I don't want to be. I'm not happy with myself, but I'm happier than I would be if I had to act like them.

How do you know?

 

[Deleted member 26715]

How do you know?

Years of observation