Will I be judged for missing the buzz of office life?

WORK IN PROGRESS | Our brilliant agony aunt, Mary Fenwick, turns her gaze to the world of work, helping sort out the problems you are struggling with day to day

- Mary Fenwick

Q It might sound shallow, but I loved going into the office before the pandemic - getting dressed up and swanning around in a place with marble floors, fresh flowers and delicious food. I even loved wearing a lanyard! Now, the business has decided we will all be home-based. I miss people, and I'm so demotivated I'll probably leave. But I'm worried recruiters will judge me for not putting a higher value on the work itself.

You are slightly unusual in being so clear about this preference, perhaps, but that doesn't mean being judged harshly. What you're talking about is just another aspect of diversity. On the whole, people who prefer the office environment that you describe tend to be younger, perhaps work in sales, and have a more extroverted personality in other aspects of their lives as well.

Sometimes, we use the words extrovert or introvert quite loosely, but for psychologists, extroversion is one of what's known as the Big Five personality traits; the others are openness, conscientiousness, agreeableness and neuroticism.