Introverted in an extraverted world? : How the workplace is biased towards the extraverted workforce.

We spend a large portion of our life at work, however that workplace is generally more suited for some than for others. There is a bias towards extraverted people in the design of the workplace which can have outright negative effects on the introverted population and as an extension, people with schizoid personality disorder. The purpose of the thesis was to identify areas which could be subject to change in the workplace in order to facilitate a larger population and increase the well-being of introverted people, particularly those with schizoid personality disorder (SPD). Data was collected through a questionnaire (N = 52) and the analysis presented evidence of a difference in how important the participants deem it that a workplace is designed for socialisation and how possible it is to work without interruptions from other colleagues. The results indicated a large difference between the more and less extraverted groups in how important and how possible it was to work without interruptions from their colleagues. The results also indicate a significant difference between how important they deem it that a workplace should be designed for socialisation. In conclusion the author suggests areas which can be improved in the workplace design to facilitate a larger group of the population and not just be beneficial to the extraverted population.