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Work settings that do not permit sufficient autonomy or that offer few opportunities to work alone and intensively, and that do not provide the opportunity to be creative, think independently, and accomplish goals, are extremely stressful and undesirable for INFJs. INFJs hold very high standards of excellence for themselves and others, so issues of competence at work are quite important.
INFJs are intolerant of and impatient with inefficiency and with others’ avoidance of problems. They like to get to the heart of an issue immediately, which sometimes makes others uncomfortable. An INFJ finds it stressful “when there are multiple ‘agendas’ at play so that there is no sense of purpose or direction about an issue that may be a legitimate problem.”
INFJs are distressed by similar work characteristics, such as often focusing on the inability to achieve their vision of growth and development for people. Being unable to work at their own pace and within their own structure is also stressful. An INFJ cited as work stressors “lack of organization and vision by management.” In addition, another INFJ is stressed by “unclear goals, expectations, and others’ unwillingness to fit into my flexible time line.” INFJs find that dealing with details (often seen by them as irrelevant to the task) is extremely stressful. Other INFJs mention as stressful “noise, confusion, lack of order and direction,” “working with others and not being able to get alone,” “being led by the nose, not having a degree of autonomy.”
In a work situation in which the particular stressors for INFJs continue over long periods, they may respond quickly and intensely to the triggers described here. This increases the likelihood that their subsequent demonstrations of “grip” behaviour will be frequent and pervasive. When persistent stress causes them to be chronically in the grip of inferior Extraverted Sensing, they are likely to lose touch with their natural confidence and pleasure in their Intuition and come across as picky, fault-finding, narrow-minded, and unimaginative.
