Creating a Balanced Office Design for Introverts and Extroverts

It is true that all of us have different social batteries, and based on that, people can have vastly different experiences in the same design office. A work environment with a lot of team-building and communication might enrich extroverts in the workplace, but that same office will drain and exhaust the introverts at work.

Similarly, while a minimal-distraction, quiet workspace might cause some people to be more productive, that might have the opposite effect on others. And with office environments changing rapidly, creating an ideal workplace for everyone is a challenge. 

This is why in this article, we will be telling you about everything you need to know on how to create the perfect work environment for all your workers that keep them happiest and most productive.

Difference Between Introverts and Extroverts

Before we can create the ideal workspace for them, we first need to understand what makes introverts and extroverts so different. You see, while all of us have some idea of what introverts and extroverts look like, only some of us actually think about what makes them different.

You see, at its core, the thing that separates introverts and extroverts isn't whether or not they think parties are cool; it is how the presence of other people impacts their energy level. 

Even an introvert enjoys hanging out with people. But eventually, they will start to feel exhausted, tired, and distracted. However, if they spend time on their own, they will actually build up energy and momentum and be a lot happier, not to mention a lot more productive.

It is the exact opposite for extroverts since they have a very low tolerance for being alone. And after a while without social interaction, they will start to get tired, distracted, and feel low on energy; until they get to socialize a little to recharge their battery.

And as you can imagine, this impacts many things in the workplace, including and not limited to the number of people who work in the same space, the way things like lunch breaks are organized, where corridors lie, and even the management style of their employer.

Neglecting these kinds of things not only makes the work experience a lot more uncomfortable for the employees, but it can also cause things like productivity loss and a decrease in office morale. It can even lead to office conflicts and difficulty in team building.

So, with that all in mind, let's take a look at the individual needs of extroverts and introverts and how they should be catered to in a perfect work environment.

Office Design Tips for Extroverts

Extroverts are always in need of mental and social enrichment, so an ideal workspace that employs a lot of extroverts would need to involve things that provide a lot of entertainment and stimulation, even if it's from a purely sensory perspective. This may include things like lots of charts, motivational posters, TVs, bookshelves, and bright décor. 

But the really important design office will come from the things that encourage movement and socialization. The work areas would have less obvious partitions to encourage the exchange of ideas. And another idea would be to incorporate things like standing or adjustable desks that make people walk around more often.

Speaking of desks, extroverts will need a lot of stuff to keep themselves busy, so having a small desk with drawers might be a good idea. Encouraging group lunches will also help satisfy the gossip itch, as will the inclusion of sitting and conference spaces where groups and teams can sit together and talk whenever they need to.

This will obviously require a lot of extra investment on the employer's part, so going for things like bulk furniture orders might be a good idea if you're going to be doing something like this.

Moving on, if all of this sounds like just your regular office these days, that's for a good reason. You see, it is a well-documented fact that most workplaces overwhelmingly cater to extroverts, not just because extroversion is considered the norm when it isn't, but also because of long-standing traditions.

Office Design Tips for Introverts

As we just mentioned, most workspace designs have a stark bias towards extroverted people, and while many people would say that that's because extroverts are generally more common than introverts, that is simply not true. In fact, studies have shown that more than half of the workers in an office space feel the need for more privacy and quiet in an office, and at least a third of an office's workforce identify as full-on introverts.

So, to say that it's high time we start catering our office designs toward introverts would be an understatement.

As mentioned earlier, introverts feel at their most comfortable and productive when they do not have to talk to people all the time, so having an office that allows people to sit at their spots for long periods comfortably would be ideal. This would mean things like nice and comfortable desks and ergonomic office chairs.

In fact, here are some of the best office chairs for long hours, perfect for introverts.

Another thing to implement would be better digitization with the use of networking software that allows people to coordinate quickly without the need to travel all the way across an office. And, if large team spaces are a necessity, there should be places like reading nooks or quiet rooms where people can go to have some quiet, private time to recharge, perhaps with separate working corners too with something like a computer desk with a hutch for quickly changing workstations.

Another thing to manage would be the décor, as well as things like the lunch/coffee spaces, all of which should be focused on a lot less since these things are not benefitting the introverts of an office anyway.

Bottom Line & How to Manage Both

Now, all of that is nice and everything, but let's face it, if we make our workspaces introverted only, we are back at square one because the simple fact of the matter is no space is completely introverted or completely extroverted. 

So, to truly design an office that is functional for everyone, you will have to create spaces that lend themselves to both styles of working. With lots of privacy and freedom to work digitally when that's needed, and also places for conversation and socialization when that's convenient and desirable.

To manage something like this, a lot of important furniture decisions will need to be made, and we recommend that you go for professional sites that sell office chairs wholesale and wholesale office desks that are purpose-built to maximize productivity for all work styles.

And that covers our guide on creating the ideal workspace for both introverts and extroverts. We hope you found the guide helpful, and if you did, remember to share this with your friends. With that, stay curious, and thanks for reading.