Phyllis Vance, formerly Phyllis Lapin but now married to Bob Vance of Vance Refrigeration, is a reserved member of the Sales Department at Dunder Mifflin. Phyllis is a talented knitter, head of the P.P.C. (Party Planning Committee), and a thoughtful and loyal friend to all. Being an ISFJ, some traits that perfectly define Phyllis are her patience, loyalty, humility, and sadly, her constant downfall of taking things a little too personally.
Although she is clearly quite depressed during the first couple of seasons, Phyllis becomes more happy, confident, and assertive as the show goes on. We can start to see this development of sense of self really flourish in Season 4. During “Goodbye Toby,” Phyllis heads the P.P.C. to help plan Toby’s goodbye party after Angela is fed up with all of Michael’s last minute extravagant requests some of those being hiring a live band and ordering several carnival rides. Phyllis successfully pulls off an amazing goodbye party for Toby. At the end of the episode, Phyllis walks in unexpectedly on Dwight and Angela (Viewers should note that this took place immediately after Angela accepted the proposal of her boyfriend, Andy). Phyllis then blackmails Angela knowing of her affair with Dwight, in order to become the official head of the P.P.C.
Sadly, this honorable title does not last long because when Phyllis finally tells the whole office about Dwight and Angela’s affair, she gets kicked out of the committee entirely. Poor, Phyllis.
Although Phyllis demonstrates a new sense of assertiveness, she will always be a humble, thoughtful, and loyal friend like the ISFJ she is at heart. For instance, when Jim decides to take a promotion and has to leave all of his clients, Phyllis agrees, along with Stanley, to help take them on. (Viewers should also note they agree to help out only after Jim treats them to an expensive lunch of wine and lobster).
In addition to her loyalty, as an ISFJ, Phyllis is a very patient person. Having to work under the cruelty of Angela in the P.P.C., she requires a level of patience in order not to crack under the pressure. She remains calm, using the internet as a means to cope with Angela’s frustrating behavior.
“I googled how to deal with difficult people.” -Phyllis Vance
Of all of her significant and important moments, I think we can all agree Phyllis peaks when she has the honor of being the office’s Santa Claus in the Season 6 “Secret Santa” episode.
If people know you for your patience, loyalty, and unique ability to dress up as Santa Claus, this just might be the reason you relate so much to Phyllis Vance.
The Office Analytics 