8 years, 10 months ago

The unapologetic introvert: I had to leave the U.S. to stop pretending to be an extrovert

Sometimes people ask why I work from home. No matter if a company is looking for a computer scientist or a salesman, the job description always sounds like it’s for the latter: “Enthusiastic go-getter wanted to serve up their skills and cheerlead a small team to stratospheric success.” Job descriptions reflect the work culture of the company posting them and the greater culture too. In case you haven’t noticed, the United States promotes what cultural historian Warren Susman calls a “Culture of Personality.” The American emphasis on personality explains why so many of our politicians and even our book authors are celebrities first. “She’s too quiet,” my teachers would tell my parents at conferences, as if I had a rare disease instead of a personality trait shared by a good portion the population. “Why so loud?” Even normal American speaking voices coming from introverts are loud from another culture’s viewpoint.

Salon

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