I felt this is a very important topic to cover as the work place shapes so much of our life. It took me many years to understand how to handle my high sensitivity and how to navigate this in the context of work. I realised I tick differently and have different needs than most, not only with personal relationships, but also professional. I'm grateful to be able to offer my hard-won lessons to my fellow HSPs and provide a fast track to stop over-arousal and design a sustainable, fulfilling and happy life! One where you can thrive instead of survive with your trait.
"The innate trait allows us to register more information, smell more deeply, hear stronger, have strong intuitive abilities."
First, what is an HSP?
Highly sensitive people (HSPs) make up about 20% society and are born with a different nervous system and brain responses.* The innate trait allows us to register more information, smell more deeply, hear stronger, have strong intuitive abilities, and – in the case of empaths – even pick up other people's emotions and life force energy also known as 'prana' or 'chi'. Empaths belong to the group of highly sensitive people (HSPs) however differ in the way they can also register prana and other people's emotions – and sometimes, depending on your type of empath, even physical pain. This means all empaths are HSPs, however not necessarily the other way around. Being autistic, psychic or a medium are again different traits one can have.
HSPs At Work
My favourite passage about HSPs in the workplace comes from Elaine Aron in her book "The Highly Sensitive Person". She writes: "Typically, HSPs are highly conscientious, loyal, vigilant about quality, good with details, intuitive visionaries, often gifted, thoughtful of the needs of clients or costumers, and good influences on the social climate of the workplace. In short, they are ideal employees. Every organization needs some." What praise!
HSPs process more information and stimuli, and also do so more deeply. This makes us excellent researchers, strategists and advisors. However our high sensitivity is a double-edged sword and can also make us feel different and thus less confident, stressed, frazzled, overwhelmed and drained.
"Typically, HSPs are highly conscientious, loyal, vigilant about quality, good with details, intuitive visionaries, often gifted and thoughtful of the needs of clients or costumers."
HSP Challenges
The challenge is that we as highly sensitive people augment stimulation. This means we're aware of subtleties but also quickly overstimulated. Especially in a work environment this can be challenging. You might have to sit in a noisy open office, have to work with intense co-workers or have to deal with people that completely don't understand your trait.
So what challenges do we frequently encounter? According to Aron "HSPs do not perform as well when being observed for the purpose of evaluation." Plus "HSPs tend to be uncomfortable with aggressive self-promotion, as we hope to be noticed for our honest, hard work." This brings the challenge that your achievements might go unnoticed and you end up being overlooked for a promotion or pay raise.
Another challenge is that HSPs often socialise less on breaks or after office hours with colleagues, which might leave us out of the loop, less well networked and cultivate less of a bond with co-workers. Especially in a political work environment this can be challenging and not in your advantage. Important to note is that usually we don't avoid socialising because we want to, it is simply a necessary method to manage stimuli and create mandatory downtime to process our experiences, which we can only do in private.
"We simply will deliver the best results when in a work environment that is quiet and calm."
You're a rose, not a cactus!
I personally feel it is incredibly important to find the right environment for your high sensitivity, as this defines if you can use it as a strength or if it becomes your weakness. We want to find out where you flourish, how to make the most use of your strengths, so you avoid being burned out every evening and weekend, exhausted from the social interactions and stimuli. If you are in a work place that doesn't value your honest hard work but exploits it, if you are put in a high-stimuli environment and have to suck it up, if people are competitive instead of collaborative, if a company doesn't align with your values then guess what: this might not be the place for you!
We simply will deliver the best results when in a work environment that is quiet and calm. Just like with plants you want to fix the environment, not the plant.
What is interesting is that HSPs may be the first to be bothered by an unhealthy situation in the workplace, which could make us seem like a source of trouble. But others will be affected in time, so our sensitivity can help employers avoid problems later.
HSP Professional Strengths
Highly conscientious
Loyal
Vigilant about quality
Detail-oriented
Great listeners
Socially aware
Emotionally intelligent
Intuitive visionaries
Thoughtful of the needs of clients or customers
Good influences on the social climate
Often intelligent and gifted
Kind and pleasant co-workers
Collaborative and helpful
Successful in decision making
Fair
Empathic
Good with problem solving
Great at creating beauty and craftsmanship
Creative
HSP Professional Weaknesses
Quickly overstimulated
Poor boundaries
Too honest
Not keen on socialising all the time
Getting lost in details
Not the best with working under pressure
Too modest
Lack of being assertive (more secondary in reaction)
Fear of confrontation
Sensitive to stress
Challenges for HSPs at the Office
Competitive, cutthroat behaviour
Noise
Bright, unnatural light
Having to be social / small talk
Being misunderstood as a neurodivergent
Having to speak up about your achievements
Standing up for yourself
Office politics, dealing with manipulation & hidden agendas
Being overlooked
Not taken seriously (since our traits are in some fields less valued)
Other people's habits (overworking, drinking coffee, going strong with after work drinks)
Corporate values that don't align with yours
Ideal Professions & Industries
There are a couple of key aspects an HSP needs in order to sustain themselves longterm and be successful in their career. We want calm, serene, harmonious work environments and ideally be abe to have control over our work environment and schedule, reducing potential stressors. We also thrive in jobs that offer opportunities for deep focus and problem-solving in less stimulating environments, such as tech. Positions that allow to make a positive impact are vey well-suited for HSPs too, as we tend to be idealistic. So what jobs and industries are great for us? Hereby some options:
UI / UX designer
AI Engineer
Web- or App Developer
Graphic Designer
Researcher
Self-Employment and Freelancing
Environmental Science
Accounting
Architect
Optometrist
Local Government
Financial Analyst
Forecasting
Strategist
Writer
Editor
Fine Arts (weaving, ceramics, painter, poet)
Product Designer
Healer
Dietician
Holistic Health Practitioner
Acupuncturist
Scientist
Life Coach
Performance Marketing (depending on company)
SEA
Email Marketing
CRM
Auction Houses
Gallerist
Personal Chef
Academia
... feel free to put more in the comments!
Professions & Industries To Avoid
I learned the hard way which positions and career paths are not bringing out the best in my HSP self. Often positions that involve managing large teams, handling a lot of stake-holders, having a lot of confrontations and making high-pressure decisions may not align well with our HSP's need for low-stress, balanced environments. Fast paced, hectic, status-oriented, high intensity, always on, competitive and people-oriented jobs you might want to avoid, such as:
Executive Roles
Sales
Fashion
Consulting
Finance
Advertising
Start-ups
Mediation
Journalism
Hospitality
Public Relations
Social Media
Lobbyist
eCommerce
Customer Support
Diplomat
Politician
HR
Medical field
Project Management
NGOs
... feel free to put more in the comments!
If you do work in the above jobs or fields look for:
Smaller companies with smaller teams
Remote work opportunities
Freelance opportunities
Collaborative environments
Industries where high sensitivity is more accepted (tech, environmental science)
Workplace Environment Considerations
Before you start a job, make sure to assess potential workplaces for noise levels, lighting, and overall ambiance to ensure a comfortable environment. Perhaps also flag you require a corner seat, and in order to be productive need quiet focus time. You could even consider putting this down in your contract.
"Implement solid boundaries; it's not overstimulation, it's filter failure."
HSP Workday Hacks
To protect yourself don't mention you're an HSP, since unfortuantely often people might see this as a weakness
Keep Bach Flower Rescue Remedy in your desk drawer, you can buy it here
Also lavender oil is great to have at hand to calm down your nervous system
Put yourself first – this is self-care and not selfish!
Give up trying to run with the pack! Stop trying to keep up and fit the mold – it's never going to work and you'll only exhaust yourself
Choose your moments (don't join for lunch every day, instead host a cool group dinner occasionally)
Make sure to feel your body throughout the day so you stay connected to your needs
Implement solid boundaries; it's not overstimulation, it's filter failure
Enjoy showing your achievements, for instance in the format of a weekly status update in writing
Rehearse for challenging moments beforehand, this way you more easily handle the actual situation
If you do talk to your boss, team or HR department about your HSP struggles, make sure to frame it from your employer's & team's perspective. Most companies like to see their employees happy, healthy and most of all: productive. Therefore make your requests about increasing your productivity and reducing distractions, so you can best benefit the team's output and deliver the best results for the company. Try avoid getting emotional and speaking with frustration about how you feel
Take frequent breaks; go to the bathroom, go for a walk, find a quiet room
Protect your harmony by leaving drama with other people
Avoid planning back to back meetings
Schedule in time to process meetings, integrate feedback, reactions etc.
Wear noise cancelling earplugs (such as these from Loop)
Use white noise audio or calming music to blend out noise from your work environment
Ask for home office days, arguing this is benefiting your performance and therefor the company or that you need undisturbed time to work on a project to meet a deadline
Recognise which problems are yours to solve and which ones aren't
Have clear work hours and stick to them
Schedule alone time to decompress and recharge
Realise you're not alone <3
Bonus Tip
In this day and age, being busy is a badge of honour – although this is luckily slowly changing! While it might intuitively feel like you get more done if you work more hours, the reverse is true. You actually get more done by working less! According to a famous study by K. A. Erickson, elite performers rarely work for more than 4.5 hours a day. Instead, they batch their tasks into 90-minute sessions. Between these sessions, they have 20-30-minute pauses. This way, they can focus solely on the task at hand, instead of becoming tired and unfocused. So start tracking the amount of time you spend on your tasks. Start with your most important work in the morning, work in sessions and leave all tasks that don't require much willpower or focus to the afternoon.
I hope this article gives the support and validation you need. Can you find yourself in my words? Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences with me in the comments below!
Sources
*The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine Aron
The Empath Survival Guide by Judith Orloff
The Highly Sensitive Person's Survival Guide by Ted Zeff
Hooggevoeligheid en stress by Susan Marletta Hart
Personal experiences
Observations from working with clients
About Me
Through my own experiences I've come to appreciate, understand and honour my own high sensitivity. Acknowledging my high sensitivity I moved to a quiet home, changed my diet, let go of unbalanced friendships and learned what makes me stay grounded, nourished, balanced and happy. My goal is empowerment and self-acceptance of highly sensitive people around world.
Work with me
Do you feel you could use some support in how to handle your high sensitivity? You can reach out to me for a private healing or coaching session here.
Feel welcome to share the information on this site with others, although I do request that you include this website address, credit your source/page links and author.
All postings by Selianthe Ka – Sweet Energy Yoga, may be used for personal, non-profit purposes only.
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