Focus
Full time employment: Posting here.
- Joined
- Oct 10, 2009
- Messages
- 640
As a happy, well-adjusted introvert, I'm taken aback when I read wild generalizations like these (from the otherwise useful book "The Retirement Maze"):
Where do I begin? Hardly any of this rings true to me. I suspect part of the issue here may be one of inaccurate self-labeling. Since being an introvert is so strongly stigmatized in our culture, a good number of introverts reject the label. So, in this study, healthy introverts likely got lumped into the extrovert percentage.
I actually think introverts are much better equipped to succeed in retirement than extroverts. Isn't this board proof of that? About 90% of our members are introverts, based on a previous poll.
In fact, isn't removing ourselves from highly extrovert-oriented workplace environments often one of the reasons we choose to RE? It certainly was for me. No need for me to expend any more energy in fending off attempts to convert me into an extrovert.
"About 25% of retirees in our survey describe themselves as introverts, who prefer to avoid social interaction and the company of others. Most of their time is spent around the home and rarely includes other people, and that leaves them feeling especially disconnected and isolated. Generally, though, they don't seem to have many interests (even solitary ones), tending to find most activities personally unrewarding. And, while they're not really sure what to do with all their free time, they're also not interested in finding things to do. ...
"In theory, at least, marriage could be a way to alleviate their loneliness or a means of building social contacts. But introverts just don't work that way -- those who are married tend to have unhappy relationships, to the point where they prefer time away from their partners. ...
"But taking a job is an option -- at the minimum, working practically forces you to meet people ... However, they don't seek work's social benefits, which should be their primary reason for working."
Where do I begin? Hardly any of this rings true to me. I suspect part of the issue here may be one of inaccurate self-labeling. Since being an introvert is so strongly stigmatized in our culture, a good number of introverts reject the label. So, in this study, healthy introverts likely got lumped into the extrovert percentage.
I actually think introverts are much better equipped to succeed in retirement than extroverts. Isn't this board proof of that? About 90% of our members are introverts, based on a previous poll.
In fact, isn't removing ourselves from highly extrovert-oriented workplace environments often one of the reasons we choose to RE? It certainly was for me. No need for me to expend any more energy in fending off attempts to convert me into an extrovert.