In high school school, students who know and speak to many people have greater access to the knowledge and resources of other students. Beyond high school, people who know how to endear themselves to others often find themselves rising more quickly in their chosen fields. The ability to socialize is strongly correlated with success.

Socializing prepares you to participate in a social group by teaching you its norms and expectations. So in the long term, being less social affects your success by influencing the amount of social influence and practice you get. According to junior Sylvie Thompson, the less social you are, the less help you have access to.

“Since I’m an introvert, I think my social skills lag behind my friends who are more outgoing. I think I’m stuck in a cycle where I don’t socialize very much, so I’ve become bad at it and find it discouraging and unrewarding. And because of that, I socialize even less,” Sylvie said. This has had some effects on her learning at school.

“I know some of my classmates have access to resources from previous AHS students,” Sylvie continued. “They know a lot more older students, so they get an advantage in school. For example, they get advice from alumni on how to adapt to a teacher’s grading and teaching style, as well as examples of their homework and classwork.”

The effects of not socializing carry on into life after schooling. In the workplace, forming strong relationships with your coworkers and superiors is essential.

“If you’re not able to relate to your coworkers as human beings and build positive relationships, your career will suffer,” said Alexander Kjerulf, an international author and speaker on happiness in the workplace. “Socializing and getting to know them as people will help you to communicate better, trust each other more and work better together. Also, employees who have positive workplace relationships are happier at work, and we know that people who are happy at work are more productive, more creative and more successful overall.”

Socializing at work not only improves teamwork and productivity but also betters your individual prospects. If you and a coworker work the same amount with the same level of productivity, your boss will probably select the employee she is more familiar with for a promotion. If your coworkers know you well and trust you, more responsibilities may be handed to you.

This doesn’t mean that you’re guaranteed to succeed if you’re good at socializing, or that you can’t succeed if you aren’t. But being proactive in your social life will help you in many ways and is important to your personal development and success.

Graphic courtesy of PIXY.ORG