With the onset of remote working and hybrid offices, introverted workers often feel left out. 

As a small business owner, I have experienced employees who are introverted. In doing so, I realized that introverts are not necessarily just insecure or shy. Often, it’s just a different, less showy way of expressing themselves. One of my goals has always been to help them feel comfortable and valued in my company. While this is not always easy, the time and effort required to do this has always been greatly rewarded by their contributions and work product.

With the onset of remote working and hybrid offices, introverted workers often feel left out. That in turn creates a set of issues such as them feeling invisible or that their work doesn’t matter, when in fact, the opposite is often true. Studies have shown that introverts are creative and handle challenges extremely well. They often have a capacity to engage, think through and make wise choices during periods of adversity or in challenging situations. They can have great capacity for empathy, have good listening skills and are thoughtful communicators. Additionally, they are often compliant with rules, emphasize quality and accuracy, and have good communication skills as well as being very resilient. They are logical and analytical, cautious and often like to plan ahead. Those are qualities I value in my employees. They also prefer to work independently and alone but while that may appear to be anti-social or not fitting in, it actually helps them.

One of the first things I do as their superior is to make sure they know they are being heard. By this I mean that their contributions in meetings and elsewhere are verbally acknowledged, both publicly and privately. I ask them how I can help them to be better at expressing themselves or how I can help them to be more comfortable. It is also as simple as just telling them that I appreciate their energy or the ideas they presented in the meeting. They often won’t speak up but you can help them by letting them know in advance the topics of discussion. Be patient and give them time to think about their answers or the issues and be tactful if making corrections. Most importantly, give them the space and privacy they need.

As a manager, helping your employees do their job well – and meeting their needs so they can accomplish their goals – should be one of your most important responsibilities. Helping employees to achieve their goals by understanding their perspectives and what they’re trying to accomplish will help get projects done, will help with morale and will help with employee retention. The goal is to have your employees feel valued and supported for who they are and what they can offer your business. When it comes to managing introverts, you want to help them to develop their natural skills and boost their comfort and confidence level in the workplace. This will help them achieve the credit, respect and career advancement they’ve earned.

Timothy A Dimoff, CPP, Founder and President of SACS Consulting and Training Center, is a nationally recognized expert in corporate security and HR issues, with over 40 years of experience in workplace security, labor and human resource consulting to corporations, associations, religious entities, educational facilities, non-profit organizations and others.  He consults, trains and develops solutions for workplace issues including substance abuse, management training, sexual harassment, documentation procedures, liability reduction, hiring/firing, pre-employment screening, employee motivation, workplace violence, bullying, corporate investigations, internal theft, security analysis/vulnerability assessment and security measures. He provides commentary and profiling analysis for television, radio and print media worldwide.

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