12 Red Flags That Reveal You’re Dealing With a Narcissist at Work

12 Red Flags That Reveal You’re Dealing With a Narcissist at Work

Working with a narcissist can turn your dream job into a daily nightmare. These self-centered colleagues create toxic environments that drain your energy and crush team morale. Learning to spot narcissistic behaviors early helps you protect your wellbeing and career. Watch for these warning signs that indicate you might be dealing with a narcissist at your workplace.

1. Credit Thieves in Action

You just presented a brilliant solution in the meeting. Fast forward to next week, and your coworker is receiving praise for YOUR idea. Sound familiar?

Narcissists routinely swipe others’ work and parade it as their own creation. They might slightly modify your proposal or use different wording, but the core concept remains yours.

This theft happens most often when supervisors aren’t aware of who truly developed the original idea. Document your contributions through emails, shared documents, or by speaking up immediately when someone claims your work.

2. Masters of Exaggeration

An inflated sense of accomplishment is one of the clearest red flags of a workplace narcissist. A minor cost-cutting measure that saves a few thousand dollars suddenly becomes a bold claim of rescuing the company millions.

Everyday duties are spun into heroic feats, with standard client calls painted as tense negotiations and routine spreadsheet updates framed as system-wide overhauls.

Keep an eye on the colleague who constantly exaggerates their role or impact. They’ll lean on dramatic language and demand excessive recognition for tasks that others complete quietly and without fanfare.

3. Fantasy Career Delusions

Ambitious promises of rapid promotions are a classic red flag. A colleague with no management background may already claim they’ll be running the department next year and sitting in the CEO’s chair within five. These declarations sound bold but quickly fall apart under scrutiny.

Narcissists often live in fantasy worlds where success is inevitable. They describe career paths that ignore company structure or logic, speaking with unwavering confidence as if their rise is guaranteed.

The concern isn’t ambition—it’s the disconnect from reality. Pressed for details, they grow vague or defensive, offering bravado instead of practical steps.

4. Praise Junkies

Fishing for compliments rarely stops when you’re dealing with a workplace narcissist. They present their work as exceptional and look for others to confirm it, often suggesting their contribution was the best of the day.

To satisfy this craving, they constantly seek recognition. Accomplishments are highlighted in emails, emphasized in meetings, and slipped into casual conversations. If praise isn’t freely given, they’ll ask for it outright or redirect the focus back to themselves.

Their need for admiration is endless. Even after receiving validation, they circle back for more, comparing themselves to colleagues and draining those around them.

5. Emotional Blindness

A team member breaks down in tears during a stressful project discussion. While others offer support, one colleague continues pressing for their deliverables with zero acknowledgment of the emotional situation unfolding.

Narcissists struggle to recognize or value others’ feelings. They’ll schedule meetings during your family emergency or demand immediate responses while you’re clearly overwhelmed.

This emotional blindness isn’t momentary insensitivity—it’s a pattern. They consistently prioritize their needs and objectives above others’ wellbeing. Personal struggles, health issues, or work-life balance concerns of colleagues simply don’t register as important in their self-centered worldview.

6. Conversation Monopolizers

The team brainstorming session has turned into a one-person show. Every time someone begins sharing an idea, the same colleague jumps in, talking over them and redirecting attention to their own thoughts.

Narcissists can’t stand when the spotlight shifts away from them. They interrupt constantly, dismiss others’ input, and manipulate discussions to showcase their supposed expertise.

Pay attention to meeting dynamics—who speaks most, who interrupts, who listens. True collaborators make space for all voices and build on others’ ideas. Narcissists view conversations as performances where they’re the star and everyone else is merely the audience.

7. Masters of Blame Deflection

The project failed spectacularly, but according to your coworker, it was because “IT didn’t provide proper support” and “marketing delivered late materials.” Never once do they acknowledge their own missed deadlines or poor planning.

Narcissists create elaborate narratives that position them as victims rather than responsible parties. They’ll point fingers at everyone from colleagues to external factors like technology or market conditions.

When confronted with evidence of their mistakes, they respond with denial, anger, or by shifting focus to others’ shortcomings. This refusal to accept accountability creates a workplace where honest evaluation becomes impossible and problems remain unsolved.

8. Special Treatment Demanders

A sense of entitlement is one of the clearest signs of a workplace narcissist. They treat rules as optional, moving through the office as if exceptions should always be made on their behalf.

This behavior shows up in many ways. They expect deadline extensions, demand prime offices despite junior status, and take resources reserved for specific projects. Each action reinforces the belief that they’re above standard expectations.

At the core is the conviction that they’re exceptional and deserving of privileges. When held to the same standards as colleagues, they react with indignation, convinced rules exist for others but not for them.

9. Skilled Emotional Manipulators

Monday they’re your biggest cheerleader, praising your work publicly. Tuesday they’re subtly undermining you in front of the boss. This emotional whiplash is a narcissist’s control tactic.

They’re chameleons who adapt their approach based on what gets them what they want. With superiors, they display charm and deference. With perceived competitors, they use intimidation or sabotage. With potential allies, they employ flattery and false intimacy.

Their manipulation arsenal includes guilt trips, gaslighting, and creating dependency. They might share “confidential information” to make you feel special, only to use your trust against you later. Their relationships are transactional, not genuine.

10. Surrounded by Yes-People

Notice that small group that always agrees with everything your difficult colleague says? They’ve created their own fan club within the organization.

Narcissists carefully cultivate a circle of enablers who reinforce their inflated self-image. These supporters might be junior employees seeking favor, colleagues who benefit from association, or people who fear becoming targets themselves.

This protective buffer serves multiple purposes: it validates the narcissist’s delusions, shields them from criticism, and creates the impression of popularity or consensus. When conflict arises, they mobilize this group to defend them, making it harder for others to address problematic behaviors.

11. Professional Boundary Crossers

Your weekend plans keep getting interrupted by non-urgent work calls from the same colleague who insists “this can’t wait until Monday.” Personal boundaries mean nothing to workplace narcissists.

They message at all hours expecting immediate responses. They ask invasive personal questions or share inappropriate details about their own lives. They might physically encroach on your workspace, borrow items without asking, or access your computer or files without permission.

This disregard for boundaries reflects their belief that their needs supersede others’ comfort or privacy. They view pushback against these violations as unreasonable rather than recognizing their own behavior as problematic.

12. Criticism Catastrophizers

Even mild feedback can send a workplace narcissist into a defensive spiral. A small suggestion or correction is treated as a personal attack, leading them to question your expertise or demand endless examples to justify your point.

Narcissists experience criticism as a direct assault on their fragile self-image. The idea of imperfection or growth is intolerable, so they reframe feedback as unfair or malicious rather than constructive.

Reactions vary from open hostility and personal attacks to subtle sabotage or guilt-inducing displays. Over time, this hypersensitivity makes honest communication nearly impossible, leaving workplace issues unresolved and tensions steadily growing.