MBTI Short Stories

INFP In the Working World

It was just another boring Monday morning, as always. INFP had just gotten to work after a 30 minute drive and her ESTJ boss was already nagging her.

"You're supposed to be here 5 minutes earlier!"

"I'm sorry, ma'm, I was caught up in personal affairs this morning. It will not happen again. I sincerely apologize."

"Then tell me about those personal affairs."

INFP was already looking everywhere to avoid ESTJ's glare and her body moved even farther away from her group leader. She tried to swallow, but her throat was dry.

"Well? Stop keeping me waiting." ESTJ impatiently tapped her foot on the ground with crossed arms.

"It was probably something stupid, again, wasn't it? Last time you told me you rescued puppies. What, did you try to rescue a fish from the water this time?"

INFP lowered her head.

A giggle could be heard from one of the working desks nearby, followed by a shush.

I kind of did, but it was a fish that was hurt. How the fuck do I say that? INFP thought. Maybe if I don't say anything she'll leave me alone. Oh, please, please, please.

"What is this commotion?"

Everyone turned to the direction of which the voice came from and INFP's head shot back up. Her heart sank several thousand meters into the ground — It was ENTJ, the CEO of the establishment.

INFP bit her lower lip as to say I fucked up.

"ENTJ, perfect timing. INFP has failed to show up on time for the 5th time this month! She should be punished with a cut in her salary."

ENTJ turned her head towards the one being persecuted... INFP shook her head slightly and blinked three times. Did ENTJ just hide a smile? No, no, I must be imagining things.

"Thank you for notifying me, ESTJ. INFP, come with me to my office." Their boss left and INFP followed close behind.

She tried to breathe deeply to calm herself down, but the anxiety persisted.

In the meantime, ENTJ hummed a tune to herself, one that the other could not recognize.

They arrived at ENTJ's office and INFP was on the verge of tears, but held them back, because crying in public would have been way too embarrassing. Her boss gestured for her to take a seat, so she did.

"INFP, unrelated to the current matter at hand, I have some news for you."

"Yes?" INFP forced herself to say. Talking felt so heavy, so difficult to her at the moment.

"Yes. I would like to congratulate you. You are one of the people to be transferred to the office in Germany. You will be expected to be there in 3 days."

INFP, "I- What?"

ENTJ, "You will receive an email later today with all of the information. Concerning what happened 5 minutes ago, forget about it. You are dismissed for the day."

And the next moment INFP found herself in the bathroom, sitting on a toilet without actually using it. If one had no idea what the office in Germany was about, they would've thought that it was a good thing to be transferred, but INFP knew she had fucked up. That office was cruel, like no other. Many people came back from there with severe burnouts and quit their jobs. She had heard all about how stressful it was from her friend, ENFP, who had been there once.

INFP didn't want to be pessimistic about it, though. How bad could it be?... Well, now that I had this thought, it will probably be even worse, but I want to judge it all for myself before jumping to any conclusions.

Thus, three days passed and INFP had arrived in Germany. The streets were darker than what she was used to and it was currently raining, but the air smelled kind of fresh and INFP liked this familiar scent. Until now, the Germans had only been nice to her.

Then came her first day at work. She woke up extra early that morning to make herself look presentable, as she had no idea what to expect.

When she arrived at the office, she was received by a gentleman with a mustache beneath his nose. He looked very venerable and INFP tried her best to be polite. "I am INTJ and will be guiding you through this establishment for today. Now that you are here, let's meet our team." Our team... In the other office she was teamed up with ESTJ, as the leader, INTP, ISFJ, and ESFP. She wondered what her new group would look like and hoped for the best, but did not expect her hopes to be heard.

The two of them entered a bland room that was made of 90% table, it felt. It was so big and covered most of the center part. There were several black chairs and an easel, as well as a projector and a projector screen. The light was white, which INFP did not like. A warmer tone would have made this a lot more welcoming. She looked around and saw the other three people of their group. They introduced themselves one by one. Their names: ENFJ, ISTP, and ENTP.

They did not waste any more time and got to work...

INFP's first job was to make copies of certain papers, so she went to the printer room. Operating this machine was difficult, though, because it was a different one from what she was used to and she found herself troubled. Along with the stress of being in a foreign environment, INFP's piled up emotions made her break down. She tried so hard not to, but the tears just kept flowing. Stop crying, wtf, just stop. It's just a printer. We'll figure this out, myself. Stop crying, bruh, what if someone sees you?

Right when she thought this, ISTP had walked in. INFP stopped sniffing and just hoped that he would not try to look at her face or make her talk or anything. Once he left, she felt relieved. She sighed. Now that I have gotten rid of some stress by crying, let's do a good job!

For the rest of the day, INFP worked well together with the others in her group. ENFJ was super helpful and helped her a lot with tasks. ISTP was good at explaining the way things worked to her. INTJ was good at guiding her, and ENTP was a lot of fun to talk with.

In the end, she had found herself a team full of accepting and supportive people that she could work with well. She thought that this would have had a bad ending, but, in the end, it turned out better than expected. :')