How Introverts Can Survive a Corporate Job Without Burning Out

Feeling burned out? Maybe you’re only a few years in. Maybe you’ve been slogging away for years and every day you wake up and question whether there is a point of going into the office. Are you having trouble falling asleep, anxious about the next day of work?

Are your co-workers killing you? Are there meetings that beat you down? The endless meetings that could be accomplished by a 10-minute email, but instead they need to drag the entire department in and any and every related stakeholder to make sure everyone is “included.”

Are you dreaming of FIRE or retiring early? Or a grand Office Space quitting montage, and fantasizing how you’ll go in well day, look your boss square in the eyes and say “I quit, try to get by without me.”

You’re in good company..

Let’s face it.

There are elements of work that absolutely suck. And suck the life out of you.

I bet you really want to quit each and every day. But there is one thing causing you to hold on. Your addiction to paying your bills and keeping a roof over your head. If you have a family your obligations become even more difficult. You don’t want to disappoint them and feel an obligation to tough it out and provide for them.

I was there too. There were weeks where I’d create spreadsheets projecting the exact date where I could quit. I researched FIRE, Lean FIRE, Barista FIRE, and Coast FIRE. I wanted so badly to be part of the tribe that retires early. But no matter how many times I ran the numbers the formula returned saying that I had to keep working and putting money away.

The good news is that there are some life-changing methods that you can use to improve your daily work. And maximize small moments of happiness and amplifying them.

Let’s jump in.

The 3 ingredients for a meaningful job

Countless studies have been done on what differentiates fulfilling job from the life-sucking kind.

1.) Autonomy – Some sense of control over your time.

Skilled trades have more of this than many white-collar professions. At one point I even considered becoming a plumber to have more of my time be self-directed. There are certain jobs that likely rank low on this and should be avoided. I will include a full list below:

2.) Competence – The feeling that you are good at your work

It feels great to accomplish a task and take a step back and admire your workmanship.

3.) Relatedness – Connecting with other people in the process

If your coworkers suck it’s going to make life that much more difficult. I had one job where I felt no one was in my corner. It was horrible. My recommendation is to have at least 1-2 people in your office that you consider your ally and to cultivate more surface-level friendly relationships with others. By this I mean you say “hi” and ask them about their weekend when you’re both at the coffee machine together. For introverts, it can be tough to be a schmooze machine. Fortunately, this isn’t necessary. The great news is for greater work fulfillment it takes just a few deeper relationships to make the difference.

Conversation starters: ask about significant others, kids, and what their interests are. For now you don’t have to focus on revealing a lot about yourself. Just try to learn a little about them.