The Office Extravert

Before the pandemic I was a very social person. I had a PACKED social calendar, and constantly sought to be around people. I would host weekly game nights, friend dinners, and group outings. During and post-pandemic I was left with a lot of social anxiety and depression, and that really impacted my ability to socialize with others. I was convinced that one of the lasting symptoms of COVID was introversion. 

When I first started working in my current office, I was still recovering from teacher burnout. I felt drained after any social interaction, and felt overwhelmed in highly populated areas (i.e. the grocery store). Anyway, when I started working in the office, I told my parents daily about how chatty people in the office were. I frequently said, "Wow, everyone in the office is so chatty. They just stop by my desk to talk to me all the time. Sometimes I get behind in my work because people stop so often.*"

*I feel the need to clarify that I am constantly weeks ahead of schedule on my work tasks. Obviously, this was not the case when I first started, so all the socializing put me slightly behind. I have become must more efficient now that I know what I am doing, so my daily tasks are completed in the first few hours of the workday. This, unfortunately, means that I am left bored and mentally unengaged for hours at a time. 

This is HILARIOUS to me.

Last week one of my coworkers said, "I worked here two months before Lauren, and I literally never talked to anyone. When Lauren came in I got roped into all her conversations." I gasped and tried to deny the accusation. I said, "No way, people stopped on their own. I didn't initiate the conversations." She continued, "You used to stop people and ask about their day, and then people just started stopping on their own." I protested again and said, "Everyone is just so friendly." I was then interrupted by multiple people across the office confirming that the accusations were, in fact, true.

I sat in silence for a few minutes, and started to think back on my last year and half in the office. I was horrified when I realized that my extraversion has a predatory nature to it. My past experiences revealed that when I am bored and want to talk I'll make eye contact with people from across the room as they walk toward the exit, and stop them to talk. 

I literally saw this Reel the same day I was called out for being the office extravert.🙃