Shyness

Can It Affect Your Career?

I don't know anyone who hasn't felt shy at one time or another. Whether it's walking into a party, or a business meeting, approaching a stranger to ask for directions, or placing a telephone call in response to a job announcement, most of us feel inhibited in certain situations. Then there are those of us who experience this feeling of shyness in most situations that involve dealing with other people.

According to the Encyclopedia of Mental Health, "shyness may be defined experientially as discomfort and/or inhibition in interpersonal situations that interferes with pursuing one's interpersonal or professional goals" (Henderson, Lynn and Phillip Zimbardo. "Shyness." The Encyclopedia of Mental Health. Academic Press. San Diego, CA). "[Shyness] may vary from mild social awkwardness to totally inhibiting social phobia," also from this source.

Causes of Shyness

Many scientists believe shyness is a genetic predisposition caused by the wiring in our brains. This means that if our parents are shy we will be shy as well. Psychologists Bernardo Carducci and Phillip Zimbardo say that there seems to be an increase in the number of shy people. They feel that this increase is due to technological advances that allow for fewer interpersonal interactions. These technological advances include automatic teller machines, voice mail, and the internet (Hendricks, Melissa. "Why So Shy?" USAWEEKEND.COM). The same article states that other shyness experts feel that going online helps those who are socially inhibited improve their interpersonal skills.

Are You Shy?

In a study published by Zimbardo in 1975, he stated that 40% of 800 respondents to a survey he conducted considered themselves shy (Sussman, Diane. "The Quiet Disorder"). Twenty years later, in 1995, Bernardo Carducci published the results of a similar study. This time the percentage increased to 48% of respondents considering themselves shy.

While many of us consider ourselves shy, not all of those who do allow it to define us. For example, I have always considered myself to be a shy person. However, when I took a quiz, created by Carducci, which rates level of shyness, the results showed that I was moderately shy. What this means is that, though I sometimes experience feelings associated with shyness, I have not allowed these feelings to keep me from pursuing my personal and professional goals.

How Shyness Can Affect Your Career?

Researchers have found that those who are shy tend to begin their careers later than non-shy people. They are also more apt to refuse promotions. They choose careers that are less interpersonal and are more undecided about which field to pursue (Azar, Beth. "When Self Awareness Works Overtime." APA Monitor. November 1995). Once in a career, "shy people have a harder time developing a career identity -- an image of themselves as competent or successful within a career track."

Next...
Overcoming Shyness