Redditor @justavoicewithno penned a viral post to Reddit’s r/antiwork sub blasting corporate culture for not being introvert-inclusive, claiming that little to no consideration is given to folks who only want to work and not socialize with their co-workers.
They started their post by stating they were going to comment on another blog someone uploaded on the website who complained that they were fired from a position because a co-worker didn’t like them. Instead, they decided to air their own grievances with the ways that neurodivergent and introverted people were often terminated or not considered for positions due to their lack of congeniality in the workplace.
The redditor went on to say that nearly all of the positions that they either left or were fired from were because management took issue with the fact that all they did when they were at work was… work: ” I’m a good worker, and have always been told by upper management however I’m an introvert and don’t do anything besides work,” they said.
Culture fits for introverts suck
by u/justavoicewithno in antiwork
They went on to say that they’ve never attended volunteer meetings at their jobs, nor did they ever make themselves a part of gatherings with their co-workers outside of office hours. They also denied friend requests on social media from people at their jobs, nor did they hang out with co-workers when they were off the clock either.
Even the conversations they’ve had with people when they were on the job were mostly relegated to just “small talk” and they opted to “just [do their] job and [leave] on time or when someone was able to release [them].”
At the end of their post they added that they were “neurodivergent so [they] suck at social cues,” reiterating at the end of their rant that they just “want to do what [they’re] paid for and go home.”
A number of commenters who replied to @justavoicewithno’s post sympathized with their workplace gripes. One person penned a post that seemingly lambasted a manager who would rather hire someone with a personality they preferred as opposed to the skill set they possessed: “I had a boss who admitted to me that she hired a MUCH LESS qualified graphic designer over a very good experienced one because of her personality.”
Another posted a tirade concurring with @justavoicewithno, echoing their sentiment that introverts were going out of their way to be rude to others: “Lot of these comments really showing how little people know about introverts, neurodivergent folks, and social anxiety. We aren’t a**holes. We aren’t trying to avoid social interactions. We just don’t want to be solely judged on how social we are. I’m an incredibly hard worker and always have been. But to have MULTIPLE meetings about how I don’t participate in after work drinks and how that is holding me back is insane.Yeesh.”
Then there was one user who shared how they were able to get out of after-work gatherings with their co-workers by lying about having a dependency on alcohol: “I had one meeting like that. I just told them I’ve been in AA. They stopped pushing for drinks after work. I prefer to keep it cheap and enjoy my drinks at home.”
And then there were redditors who criticized folks who created meaning for themselves through the jobs that they devote the majority of their lives to doing: “Some people make their life about their work,” which another person found equally disturbing, as they wrote: “These types of people should never hold power over others.”
There was another Reddit user who said that they suffered from the same issue as @justavoicewithno, stating that they feel the need to “mask” themselves while they’re on the job: “I can relate.. I find I have to mask a lot at my current job and probably would have done better not trying to unmask at my last one.. extroverts see themselves as the default and the correct way to human. Unfortunately it end up just being more work for us to play the game and keep them happy. :/”
And another user simply said: “Extroverts in the workplace suck. They’re always seeking validation,” before launching into a litany of various reasons why they cannot stand extroverted people: “And then they will blame you for not fitting their mold, acting like they tried so hard to establish a good rapport when really all they did was invade your space at inopportune times to badger you with things you were never interested in. “
There have been a series of professional pieces discussing introverted employees in the workplace, and best practices on how to go about managing said workers while co-inhabiting with them in people’s respective jobs. A LinkedIn piece by Diversity & Inclusion Specialist Maria Antoinetta states that “quiet behavior isn’t a bad thing” on the job. She states that the lack of understanding of introverts at work is “a real problem.”
Indeed also published a piece about “hiring, managing, and understanding” introverts in the workplace, writing that employers should be mindful of the fact that just because an introverted worker isn’t going out of their way to spend time with their co-workers, doesn’t necessarily mean that they aren’t committed employees “introverts may be required to interact with others more than they would normally choose to. While more extroverted employees may spend breaks, lunch hours and time after work together, introverts prefer to spend their free time alone recharging their energy.”
The Crystal Knows blog also touches on several similar points in the aforementioned Indeed article as well, echoing that many introverted employees are usually “meticulous and structured” and value being able to research their tasks extensively and communicate verbally as opposed to face to face or over phone/video calls.
The Daily Dot has reached out to @justavoicewithno via Reddit DM for further comment.
