Why HSP support professionals excel at one-on-one interactions but feel drained in multidisciplinary workplaces

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Strangely, I never feel tired when I am face-to-face with a client or patient.

I can sense the emotions hidden behind their words. I notice small changes, like thinking, 'They seem different today.' I can naturally adjust to the other person's pace. In one-on-one situations, an HSP's sensitivity becomes a direct strength.

However, the moment I have to interact with multiple professions in the workplace, I become completely exhausted.

I believe this is a common feeling for support professionals with HSP traits. I have worked for 16 years as an occupational therapist in a special nursing home, a workplace where many different professions intersect. I feel that my time with clients is my true calling. Yet, in that same workplace, I have been worn down time and again by my relationships with colleagues.

I would like to talk about why there is such a difference today.

The support setting and the workplace are completely different environments

One-on-one support is an environment where it is easy for an HSP to function. There is only one other person. The emotional focus is narrowed to one direction. There is little noise. I can interact at my own pace.

But the workplace is different. Multiple people exist at the same time, and their emotions, positions, atmosphere, and timing all rush in at once.

Imagine the moment you enter a meeting. The tone of the speaker's voice, the tension in the room, the changes in someone's facial expression, who is being considerate of whom. An HSP unconsciously picks up on all of it.

There is too much information, and the brain cannot process it all. This is the true nature of the exhaustion.

The dilemma of not being able to speak up in meetings

What I find most difficult is speaking up during meetings.

As a functional training instructor, even if I think, 'This client can walk. They have the motivation to walk. We should help them walk,' I freeze when I try to put it into words.

Considering the burden of supervision on the care staff, I hesitate to step in. If they fall, it might become my responsibility. Some staff members might push back. Once I calculate all those risks in my head, the words just won't come out.

I believe this happens when an HSP's trait of 'taking in too much' becomes intertwined with the complex human relationships in the workplace.

However, I now have an answer to this dilemma. It is to show results before asserting them with words.

I practice walking one-on-one with that client and do rehabilitation in a place where other staff can see. After the staff members feel, 'Oh, this person can walk this well,' I make my proposal again. It takes longer than just saying it directly. But there is less pushback, and it is easier to move forward.

This is the way I have learned to navigate the workplace as an HSP over the course of 16 years.

When there is an overbearing staff member, I feel it as if it were happening to me

Another thing that is exhausting is the moment the atmosphere in the room turns sour.

When an overbearing staff member is cornering another colleague with harsh words. It’s not directed at me. But my body tenses up. My heart skips a beat. That sensation overlaps with the memories of being verbally abused every night during my first year in the workforce.

This is a reaction known as an HSP's "emotional resonance." I absorb the emotions of others as if they were my own. That is why, even if I am not the one being targeted, I get drained just by the bad atmosphere in the room.

I think it weighs more heavily on me than on other staff members. This is not a matter of willpower. It is an unavoidable reaction due to the structure of an HSP's brain.

The "everyone lunch" during the break is subtly exhausting

It is not just meetings where I get drained in settings with many people.

When the topic of "Why don't we all go to lunch?" comes up in the office during break time, it is honestly exhausting. I like routines. The time I spend quietly eating the lunch my wife made for me is my time to recover.

That is why I don't bring my wallet to work. This way, I stopped being invited naturally.

Some people might think, "Wait, is that okay?" But there are people at work who lie down as soon as lunch break starts. Everyone has their own way of recovering. In my case, that is "quiet time alone."

It doesn't create an awkward atmosphere either. When you work somewhere for a long time, your style becomes recognized. I believe that is also a form of environment-building that takes time.

Because I am the only OT at the facility, I can choose my own field

I am the only functional training instructor at the special nursing home.

That is precisely why I can decide for myself where to conduct training. On days when I want to do it quietly in a place away from prying eyes, I use a space where no one is around. Conversely, if I think, "I want to show that this resident can walk," I do it in a place where people can see.

This is also my own strategy for surviving as an HSP in a multidisciplinary workplace.

I can control the setting for support myself. Just by doing that, the degree of exhaustion changes significantly.

By continuing for a long time, the way you get drained changes

There is one more thing that time solves.

When I first came to the special nursing home, there were staff members who were openly hostile. But as I worked there for a long time, that disappeared. Now, I am relied upon in various situations more often. Moreover, the requests I get are mostly one-on-one interactions. That is where I can easily demonstrate my strengths.

It might be close to the "community feeling" in Adlerian psychology. The feeling that you are useful to someone, the feeling that you are needed by someone. That softens the exhaustion at work.

I now believe that for an HSP to survive for a long time in a multidisciplinary workplace, it is more important to gradually cultivate places and relationships where you can breathe, rather than trying to become strong.

In conclusion

The reason HSPs excel at one-on-one support but get drained in multidisciplinary workplaces is not because you are weak. It is because the environment is different.

One-on-one support is designed in a way that is easy for HSPs to navigate. However, a multidisciplinary workplace is an environment with a high volume of information and complex, intertwined emotions, making it easy to get worn out.

That is precisely why I believe what is needed is not to become stronger in that environment, but to gradually create your own space and sense of distance where you can breathe.

Even if you cannot assert yourself with words, there are ways to show your value through your achievements. You can choose to be alone during your lunch break without feeling guilty. By continuing for a long time, your position in the workplace will change.

There is definitely a path to staying kind without getting drained.

Occupational Therapist, 16th year | Special Nursing Home/Unit Care | Former Dementia Care Instructor | HSP/ISFJ

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