I think the concept of ‘popular’ at work is a bit silly but for the sake of your question, I am and have been very well-liked at most of my jobs. People give me compliments and show their appreciation often and I usually do float on that high for a minute, but I also don’t really absorb it. I have real bad imposter syndrome and low self esteem. Those ‘popular’ people aren’t usually as high on themselves as you might think.

As for what actually makes me happy, idk maybe my cats and seeing people I care about succeed.

I’m glad you get happy when you get compliments, you deserve to feel happy. I can’t imagine ever being annoyed by compliments.