Why Being Intuitive Feels Like a Disadvantage at Work
I recently realized that in many workplaces, success isn’t just about knowledge or skills. It’s about managing people. And for someone like me, that’s the hardest part.
I’m very intuitive and sensitive to people’s energy. I notice small things tone, gestures, even the way someone behaves when they’re uncomfortable or hiding something. Sometimes I wish I didn’t notice so much, because seeing these things makes the workplace feel exhausting.
I’m the kind of person who helps immediately when someone asks for support. But not everyone works that way. Some people avoid helping, some compete quietly, and sometimes there’s even subtle sabotage driven by insecurity or envy.
Corporate environments can feel toxic for someone who values sincerity and peace of mind. Many times I think about leaving and finding something simpler, something calmer. But reality is complicated, we need money, and once you start earning well, it’s not easy to walk away.
Sometimes I wonder if changing jobs would really change anything. Maybe different places have the same patterns, just with different people.
I’m still trying to figure out how to deal with this. Maybe the answer isn’t becoming less intuitive, but learning how to protect my energy and set better boundaries.
Because seeing deeply shouldn’t have to mean suffering deeply too.
@Lynda30
I've worked a huge variety of jobs, from very simple labor to working with lawyers, doctors and other professionals. I also have 60+ years of experience working.
Based on my experience, I've concluded, as you have suggested, people are people, and changing jobs might make things better, but odds are, there will still be competitiveness, jealousy, and false sincerity. I have found this to be true, whether cleaning toilets and mopping floors or attending high-level staff meetings. The level of sophistication and polish of speech may vary widely, but the underlying humanity, for better or worse, is quite similar.
Are you familiar with the Myers-Briggs personality test? You can find it online. I've been an INFP up until the last five years or so. Now, I’m sometimes an INFP, other times, an INFJ.
If you're interested in taking the test, it might help you understand why corporate environments, and actually pretty much any work environment can be exhausting.
I think being intuitive leads to introversion, and both attributes can make it difficult to be around the typical mix of employees.
I agree with the thought that becoming less intuitive isn't the answer. Protecting your own energy is.
I have a formula that may or may not work for anyone else, but it has served me well. It may have helped that I had to work with patients with mental health issues, along with other medical providers who also demonstrated the same kind of human attributes that exist in any other workplace. The result was I found myself responding to the irrational patients and problematic staff in very much the same way.
The thing that kept me grounded, and prevented me from losing my cool, was to respond to whatever bad behavior a person exhibited, with unconditional acceptance of the persons heart which existed beneath the bad behaviors and mental health issues. Perhaps I'm lucky because the work itself assisted in conditioning me to maintain that perspective.
It may sound bold and/or irrational, but in my personal experience, when love and acceptance is flowing out of me, the negative energy of others is not absorbed. That doesn't mean I don't feel it when it's coming at me, but it does not linger.
I wish you good fortune in your work, and that those around you are elevated by your kindness.
Yes, you are right. I’ve tried that as well, and I can see some changes in the other person’s behavior not entirely, but to some extent. However, I don’t think it’s really about their behaviour changing, I believe it’s more about how my perspective has shifted.
I understand that I can’t completely change myself in just one day.
Of course, some things will still bother me, but I’m doing my best not to let them affect me as much. Hopefully, with time, I’ll continue to learn new things and unlearn some of my old patterns.
