Isolated Jobs are Exquisite

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Yesterday I had a team meeting at my work with my new supervisor. She's a great woman and very friendly, even though she knows I'm freakishly quirky. She told us in the meeting that the main reason why employees leave our line of work is because of isolation. We're all in our own separate cubicles, and basically if you don't have any direct friends here, you can go a full eight hour day without talking or communicating to anybody at all--even your own supervisor. To me it's absolute heaven, and it really confused me when she told us that that's the main reason why people can't handle it.

This was the first job I'd been able to hammer down and hold onto for longer than six months. My previous jobs have all been in the line of active customer service or child daycare. All of them, aside from my daycare job I had for a year, were in the food industry and extremely taxing for my mental state. (In fact I actually didn't hate my daycare job but was let go for apparently being too oblivious.) I've held this current job for almost four years without complaints, and was rather shocked to find out that everyone on my team--including my supervisor--is less than a year employed and only sorta like their jobs. A couple of them even said they preferred retail and interacting with other people on a regular basis than sitting in a box for four hour intervals.

Thinking of going back to a customer service or daycare job one day keeps me awake at night. Is seclusion really that bad to some people?

I agree.

I spend most of my time alone on my job, too.

Yes, seclusion is bad for most people, can actually trigger mental illness if done too much. That is why they use isolation cells in prisons as punishment.

I've been repeatedly offered a developer position at a trendy tech company that mimics Google, complete with a slide for a staircase and food everywhere.

I went to lunch with them and was shown around the facility. THE WHOLE COMPANY IS OPEN FLOOR. No cubes, no walls, everybody sits in the open, including managers. I was really uncomfortable there, but I couldn't tell people why.

I want a corner office with a (small) window and four walls.

When I was working last I had my own cubicle area with one side open to the rest of the service department.

For most of the day (about 95%) I spoke to voices on the phone (industrial customers) and both helped solve their technical problems and arranged for our technicians to visit them. So it was one-on-one and in both the subject and activity I really liked, and helping people.

It was really great and I haven't even got to the part about looking through my window and seeing the deer play in the field across the street or the red tailed hawks circling in the sky as I helped my customer. That was of course "only some of the time" but it was enough that I stayed there for a very long time.

The "side open to the rest of the service department" turned out to be not-a-problem. Many people deferred to my age and the fact I'd been with the company since '83. No one else did my particular job in relation to the service technicians going into the field and the technicians were nice to me (perhaps because I was the one that sent them to the machine in the desert or the one in Hawaii ?).

But the thing that made it all possible was the owner of the company. He is "a thinking man" and very brilliant. I know it was him, at least in part, that made my move to the service department from the assembly department, happen, and am forever grateful.

@r00tb33r That sounds like fun! (Minus the whole open floor. That freaks me out.) I grew up curling up in hidey holes and closets to get some peace and work on projects, so cubicles are ideal for me. I'm still surrounded by voices of everybody else on phonecalls, but no one is ever talking to me directly.

That's like my current job- my favorite times are when the whole office is gone (on some kind of stupid business trip/meeting) and I"M ALL ALONE- I get SO much work done- play loud music I like and stim as much as I'd like- I get so much work done. But when my co-workers are there my productivity plummets- can't focus, they all want to chatter and talk, want to go out to eat- UGH! They drive me insane. The only good thing is that unlike my last job- I never answer the phones.
If occassionally I do it's always:
1.) Hello, XYZ company, This is UA; how can I help you?
2.) Oh, I'm sorry so-and-so is not in can I take a message?
3.) Okay, I will tell them: have a great day. Good bye.
I say that no matter what they want, never varies, and only happens maybe once every 3 days? As it is not my major job duty.
And if they get angry or deviate from that script at all I say:
"I'm sorry, I do not have jurisdiction with that department/account/location, and I am not privy to any information regarding that inquiry, but I can direct you to someone that is. Please hold."
I used to write out in advance what I would say- that helped, but eventually I just memorized the above two scripts and that's all I ever need.

I hate it when I have to go to meetings and have skype calls or meet others- it kills me, and I just kind of sit there. I hate the mandatory business conversing/socializing with people (it's the penultimate of socializing with people and having an agenda: I can't stand it)- it's so aggravating.

What are these mythical jobs which include isolation?
Every possible job advertisement I pointlessly scroll through includes -
- excellent communication skills
- be a people person and a team player
- able to multitask
- work well under pressure
- love a fast paced environment
- have a bright and bubbly personality
- excellent customer service skills
The list goes on. None of that describes me. I had a theory that jobs that involve actual work as in a task that needs to be done like fix an engine or design a building, does not include these silly stipulations. They want to know if you can do the work, have the qualifications, or not. This emphasis seems only to be in service positions, where your job is to please other people.
I'd love an isolated job. The less people at me the better. Where have people worked where you can be left alone?

Unfortunately isolation is tough for most people, and many employers are eager to create their own "culture," which can be hell for us. I'm lucky in that I have a government job, so I don't have to worry about goofy work environments or company culture. My building is small, and my unit within the building only has 9 other people at most. And we have our own cubicles, except for two people who have to share.

Meetings can be rough, but it's the phone calls I really hate. If I could just do paperwork I'd get a lot more done.

Interpretations.

I work as a call captioner for the deaf and hard of hearing. Not only do I get to listen in on fascinating conversations all day, but I also never interact directly with our customers. It's a completely discreet job set in the line of interpretations and closed captioning. Easiest job I ever had, most high paying, and I'm away from practically anybody who would wish to talk to me.

Even in meetings, I don't need to speak up unless directly called on, and can usually sit toward the back and out of the way.

If anyone is looking for a good isolated job that pays decently, I'd recommend looking up captioning telephone calls.

I'm glad you're feeling content at this point in time.

I used to be a cleaner and spend my breaks in the cool damp and quiet cellar or at the back of the building where the shade was! I liked being on my own routine and away from too many stresses and demands, cleaning is one of the only jobs I'll ever be able to cope with, I was really desperate at one point and even went to a mcdonalds interview intending to attempt to stand behind that counter but even mcdonalds said it wasn't a suitable role for me haha.

My job alternates between driving and healthcare. The solitary driving is what sustains me and gives me a chance to decompress.
I love isolation but honestly wouldn't want to be trapped on a deserted island or otherwise unable to ever connect with another human being.