INFJ: Job Satisfaction

INFJ Workplace Strengths
• are someone who reaches understanding by contemplating and thinking, pondering things, someone who wants to really think about it
• are reflective, quiet, and prone to consider before acting
• prefer physical work space which allows for privacy and concentration
• participate and speak up after observing and formulating your own impressions and questions; may need to be asked what you think or feel
• regard meeting as taking time away from work and as places where more work gets generated or assigned
• are aware of internal guiding principles, philosophy, and commitments
• focus first on and are most interested in the big picture, global issues, future possibilities; you notice the “forest” before noticing the “trees”
• are speculative and work toward “what if”
• work in bursts, await inspiration, may skip around, pursuing what “strikes your fancy;” may work on several things at the same time
• want a team to have an engaging vision and mission; initiate and enjoy consideration of possibilities or theoretical matters
• arouse energy and zeal, especially for pursuing the mission and for innovations
• are amiable and approachable; are sensitive to others, sometimes at the cost of being direct
• often want to spend some time getting to know others and build relationships before getting to the work at hand
• believe the best work from a team will emerge from cooperation
• are sensitive to how others will react or be affected; promote harmony, conciliation, and well-being; seek win/win results
• urge actions congruent with individual values and the professed values of the organization
• are dependable, deliberate, decisive, and focused; stick to commitments, plans, and schedules
• may be uncomfortable proceeding without a plan

INFJ personality and INFJ ability would include a tendency toward the following workplace weaknesses:
• may need to be asked what you think or feel
• may view meetings as naturally negative events that cause more work than is accomplished by having them
• will have difficulty seeing the big picture
• may have difficulty focusing on one thing for great amounts of time
• want the work of a team to be engaging vision and the mission may have trouble being realistic, practical and in-the-moment for too long
• will be uncomfortable to troubled proceeding without plans
• may initially see give and take as disruptive arguments and conflicts
• may not take “constructive criticism” well, may see it as personal

Now take a few moments and consider how INFJ’s behave and perform in the workplace from the following six aspects:

What Others Might Observe First:
◦ are warm, cooperative, trusting, sensitive, tactful, and easy to get along with (though they may also keep their distance or seem aloof at first)
◦ have good communication skills, and persuasive, and are good listeners
◦ are dependable and persistent; they do what they agree to do and meet obligations
◦ seem to “have their act together”

Work Style
◦ prefer a supportive environment that is friendly and non-competitive and where harmony and praise are common
◦ see work as a mission or service-want work to make a difference for others and they want to grow through their work
◦ like variety and opportunities to be creative, and they dream up new approaches to the routine
◦ value independence and autonomy, and want to organize their own time, effort, and work environment

On Work Teams/In Groups
◦ are imaginative, have or generate ideas (though ideas may have to be drawn out of them), are comfortable with abstraction and complexity, and can synthesize multiple perspectives or diverse information
◦ encourage and empower others, want and give appreciation and affirmation, seek to create cohesion, and take a facilitative approach
◦ prefer to have both organization and structure and concern for people and human values; want the team to organize itself around vision and values
◦ are good at working on teams, though too much of a group can fatigue or overload them

Facing Change
◦ may experience tension between being too oriented toward newness and change and honoring traditions and what has proven to be comfortable for people
◦ look for and may be aware of significance in events that others may miss or deem unimportant
◦ use symbols and metaphors to visualize and talk about change
◦ may withdraw if their ideas are not accepted or their values are not respected

During Conflict
◦ prize and strive for harmony
◦ are often peacemakers and mediators who know how to resolve difficulties and are able to find some good in a painful situation
◦ may take on and/or internalize others’ concerns
◦ under stress, may want to be alone, may make absolute statements and speak harshly of themselves or others, and/or may become distracted and give considerable energy to a low priority tasks

Workplace Contributions
◦ strong and idealistic belief in people and in what they can accomplish, and encouragement of others to maximize their abilities and potential
◦ visionary - advocating their visions, values, and ideals
◦ insight into people, sometimes being aware of others’ needs before others themselves are
◦ promoting integrity and the alignment of values and actions for individuals, groups and organizations-calling upon organizations to “walk their talk”

May Be Experienced As:
◦ having strong convictions, inner vision and lofty goals and sometimes as being single-minded and inflexible about how things ought to be
◦ indirect and private, so they may be hard to get to know
◦ self-critical, hard on themselves, and “perfectionistic”
◦ liking to dig into things deeply and sometimes as tending toward exhaustive exploration or over analysis

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