INFJ workplace habits include their need for a satisfying work environment. For INFJ personality types, money and social status is not an important part of their work life. They feel good when they can positively contribute in others’ life while still focusing on their personal and professional growth.
The ideal workplace will be the one matching their ideals and values. People with INFJ personalities cannot thrive in office politics. Any kind of social drama, gossip, and unnecessary rules are not meant to be with INFJ for long. They would prefer to leave such toxic work environments at the earliest.
INFJs prefer work environments that are equal and fair. They hate social injustice and want to be a part of an open-minded work culture where everyone is looked at in similar ways.
In workplaces, INFJs are serious professionals.
They are loyal and dedicated. Given the ability to think and feel for others, INFJs will always value sensitivity and empathy in workplaces.
In this article, we will discuss how these sensitive and value-driven people perform their varied hierarchy job roles in a formal work set up.
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INFJ Workplace
INFJs are introverted, intuitive, feeling, and judging personality types. They are one of the 16 personality types referred to in the MBTI personality test. These individuals possess contradictory characteristics that make them one of the most unique, and hard to find types in the general population.
INFJs are introverts with intuitive and feeling traits. This personality pattern means that they will always be influenced by their immediate social surroundings. The workplace is no different in this regard. For an INFJ, the best fit work environment will be the one that is organized, compassionate, and supportive.
They thrive best in places that follow certain basic rules of work. People with INFJ preferences cannot work in toxic work setups amidst loud and dominating people because they prefer privacy and avoid mingling too much with people not too close to them. It is vital for an INFJ personality type to find meaning in the work they are doing.
Armed with intuition, they prefer to work in projects that have some purpose to fulfill in their professional life. They always prefer to achieve success that is purposeful and meaningful. For an INFJ type, their work should be systematic, organized and here they can remain prepared to face any sorts of unforeseen situations.
INFJs are committed and dedicated workers. As a subordinate employee, they will always show their dutiful nature at work. In workplaces, they tend to show their reserved and serious nature quite openly, and as such others may not interrupt them while at work.
Most INFJs feel that work is a passion for them. They feel privileged to work in setups that allow them to influence and impact others’ lives in positive ways. Thus, in workplaces, INFJs want something more than just a job that earns them two meals a day.
For an INFJ personality type, work environments, if pushy and intimidating, then it would be a big ‘no’ for them to continue in it. They would feel emotionally drained and tired if they are being micromanaged at every step in their work.
The best choice for them is an easygoing, productive, and flourishing work setup that allows them to see future possibilities and work along those lines. Since these individuals are not great at multitasking, they do well in work setups that are slow and concentrate on one work assignment at a time. INFJs are choosy with their work as well. They prefer creative job roles that are both innovative and systematic.
People with INFJ preferences will look for clear boundaries between work and home. They prefer downtime just like any other introvert. Thus, if they are required to bring their work back at home, they may not like it at all. Sometimes, annoyance and frustration can lower their work quality and efficiency to a great extent.
INFJ workplace habits also require them to work with slow-paced and humble co-workers. They hate loud people around them, thus may not function as effectively with them as expected. Most INFJs are individual contributors in their work. They hate being told what needs to be done in the project.
Because of their soft and sensitive mindset, they prefer to stay aloof from confrontations as far as possible. It makes them feel toxic from within.
These individuals will prefer to maintain serenity in the social space they belong to, and the workplace is considered as a place for growth and development, not somewhere to vent out one’s frustrations, resentments, and annoyances.
Now let us find out how an INFJ type performs their varied roles as managers, subordinates, and co-workers.
INFJ as colleagues
INFJs’ introverted-intuitive characteristics become more pronounced while working with others in a group. As colleagues, INFJs are humble, sensitive, polite, and friendly. They are the popular ones in the office whom everyone adores just like anything.
In this way, INFJs will diffuse conflicts and nip issues at the bus quite effortlessly. Their friendly behavior also helps them to maintain harmony and cohesiveness with teammates in the group. People with an INFJ personality type are soft-spoken colleagues.
They will never speak harshly or use words that can demean the worth of others. These people believe in fairness and equality, thus they prefer work setups that believe in human worth as a positive force in the workplaces.
As they always work with a purpose in mind, they prefer to work alone even while in a group. This doesn’t mean that they’re less cooperative and helpful. Instead, they often take more loads onto themselves than their colleagues.
Sometimes, INFJs can even overburden themselves with a lot of work from other colleagues that can make them feel emotionally restless and irritable in no time. Still, they try to take the load of their peers happily.
This empathetic nature will backfire if INFJs face criticism from their colleagues in certain ways. They may feel hurt and utilized from deep inside.
Being an introvert, they prefer to keep their negative emotions to themselves unless it starts taking its toll on their mental health.
As colleagues, they will provide their vision and insights to other team members. INFJs are good at understanding the bigger picture. So, they will show the future possibilities of their effort to the team. They are humanitarians and prefer to be praised for who they are.
INFJ colleagues have a strong desire to get the work done on time. They seek closure of the project in the finest way possible. Eventually, they will motivate and inspire other teammates to put their best foot forward in accomplishing the team objective.
An INFJ colleague will solve people’s problems. They are open to new opinions and try to keep peace with everyone. As colleagues, they are humble, considerate, helpful, friendly, and deeply compassionate. Others love them for their decent and gentle nature as always.
INFJs as a manager
As already mentioned, INFJs have the ability to inspire and motivate others. It is probable that they can become able leaders as well. These individuals can commit people to work towards a common organizational goal.
People with INFJ qualities can not only inspire others, they can also make their subordinates feel praised, valued, and recognized in finer ways.
As managers, INFJs are supportive. They are not critical and nitpicky, rather prefer to assist those teammates who lack the necessary skill and knowhow to accomplish the assigned task successfully.
INFJ managers never prefer to exert authority but believe in fairness and equal treatment for all. They would love to hear the views and opinions of their subordinates and never try to judge them openly.
As managers, INFJs are far from being lax. They expect efficiency, competency, and punctuality from their subordinates in its finest form. Sometimes, if their subordinates fall short of their expected standards, INFJs would genuinely show interest in finding out the real reason for their inefficiency.
In this way, INFJ managers are kind and considerate. They are humble and polite as well. However, if they find out that the subordinate was inefficient and careless because of his or her own mistake, then they will not tolerate the lapse at all. They operate with utmost efficiency and devotion in the workplace and expect the same from their subordinates.
INFJs as a subordinate
As subordinates, INFJs are the true idealists. Their work ethics are always tied with values. These individuals are industrious and hard working. These people will be patient listeners and tireless workers being in a subordinate role.
INFJs feel the need to remain independent and exert their autonomy while working on a project. They will no doubt listen to their superiors but also prefer to exert their opinions clearly through a system. These people would prefer to make their work contributions feel valuable and worthy in the workplace. This ensures a meaning and purpose in the work they are doing.
If their managers criticize them, then their work morale and efficiency can go down significantly. The INFJ subordinate is a doer and a dreamer both. They are always optimistic and envision a bright future for all working with them.
They will voice their opinions loudly and not compromise if their values and ideology gets hurt in some ways. An INFJ subordinate will stick to their innate beliefs and values, no matter what others think about them in the official setup.
Sometimes, they would love to get praise and appreciation from their managers, just to feel more worthy of themselves. They can efficiently handle interpersonal issues because they are the peacemakers as always. An INFJ employee is humble and polite, devoted and committed. They are an asset to the organization that is hard to be found easily.
INFJ personality type and workplace communication
In workplaces, communicating with an INFJ is easy. They will always have common ground to talk about with others because of their compassionate and considerate nature. They prefer direct and active communication styles.
The content of communication should touch their feelings and you will see them interacting deeply with you. In workplaces, INFJs will shout out their opinions and they would love to be heard and accepted for their differing viewpoints.
These individuals will always enjoy the conversation if it is conceptual in nature. If too many mundane details are to be discussed, they may lose track of what is being said. In such a situation, the discussion will become too monotonous and they will no longer put their interest into the process.
INFJs enjoy meaningful conversations. The discussion should have an agenda to talk about. While communicating with an INFJ, be clear about your words.
They prefer polite language and the delivery should be smooth, humble, and not in a dominating tone. As INFJs are sensitive and gentle, they prefer one to one communication that touches the heart in varied ways.
Business Meeting with an INFJ Personality Type
Being a judging personality type, INFJs prefer organized and planned business meetings that were scheduled long back. They hate last minute changes in the meeting place, time, and even the agenda.
They need space to process the minutes and details of the meeting in their own ways. INFJs are intuitive introverts. Thus, it’s probable for them to think over each and everything related to the meeting agenda. Unless they are rest assured that the meeting has served a good purpose, INFJs will not feel the peace within.
INFJs prefer pleasantries at the beginning of a meeting so greet them well and make them feel comfortable in the social space. Moreover, ask for their opinions about how the meeting details need to be discussed, so that they feel wanted in the scenario.
People with INFJ preferences prefer short meetings that are meaningful. So avoid making the meeting lengthy and cumbersome. Keep the meetings concise, to the point, and organized.
INFJ Personality Type and Conflict Resolution in the Workplace
INFJs can perceive others’ emotions easily. Therefore, they will always reciprocate their feelings with care and concern. This sensitive personality type is not the one to initiate or start a fight or confrontation. They are peace loving and prefer to stay away from all sorts of conflict in workplaces.
Sometimes, they will ignore the situation or escape away from it. They believe that every situation can be made peaceful by resolving the issues calmly. These individuals are soft and gentle. Any sort of personal and professional rift in workplaces can be easily sorted with tact and humility.
In workplaces, conflicts are common because of differences in opinions and work style of all the employees. INFJs are diplomatic with a considerate heart. They will always use tact and wit to resolve the issue.
While resolving the conflict, the INFJ type will cross question many times, so that they are sure about the subtle things related to the conflict. Once they have understood the issue, they will make sure to resolve the conflict tactfully without hurting anyone’s feelings. They use rational judgments that appear sound and acceptable to others.
To Sum Up
INFJs have the skills to make their workplace a happy place for themselves and others. Given the quality to work hard and move towards a goal passionately, they are the doers in the true sense.
People with INFJ types are reserved and they may also find their endeavors taking a backseat in workplaces. They should learn to come to the spotlight and make their presence felt to others.
In workplaces, they should come up to the forefront so that others notice them easily. INFJs are not keen to join careers and workplaces that are cut throat and emphasize success only. They do not want to undermine emotions and prefer easygoing yet organized work setups that fulfill their need to stay prepared all the time.
