How To Deal With A Narcissistic Boss: 14 Strategies That Always Work
Working with a narcissistic boss can be challenging and can negatively impact an employee’s mental health and wellbeing. A narcissistic boss is someone who has traits of narcissistic personality disorder and displays toxicity in their behavior and interactions with others. They tend to be highly self-centered, grandiose, and exploitative, with an exaggerated sense of self-importance and a lack of empathy for others. This article discusses how to deal with a narcissistic boss.
How to work with a narcissistic boss, the first step is to understand what makes them toxic. They often exhibit a number of toxic behaviors at the workplace, such as arrogance, manipulation, lack of empathy, exploitation, and boundary violations. These behaviors can often demotivate their employees and negatively affect their productivity.
To identify a narcissistic boss, one must look for signs such as an exaggerated sense of self-importance, lack of empathy for their employees, sense of entitlement, demand for excessive admiration and praise, manipulation, criticism of employees, taking credit for their employees’ work, playing favorites, poor listening skills, gaslighting and micromanaging, refusal to admit fault or apologize, highly reactive to criticism, history of workplace conflict or turnover, and a need for constant attention and validation.
To deal with a narcissistic boss, employees can take several steps, including:
Setting boundaries: Establishing healthy boundaries is essential when dealing with a narcissistic boss. This includes saying “no” when necessary, refusing to engage in inappropriate behavior, and asserting one’s rights as an employee.
Documenting everything: Keeping a record of all communication with the boss, including emails and notes from meetings, can be useful in case of a dispute or conflict.
Focusing on the work: Employees should focus on their work and strive to meet their goals and objectives, regardless of the boss’s behavior.
Finding allies: It is helpful to seek support from colleagues who may be experiencing similar challenges or a therapist who can provide guidance on how to deal with a narcissistic boss.
Managing expectations: Employees should manage their expectations of their boss and not expect them to change their behavior. Instead, focus on how to work around their behavior and achieve one’s goals.
Seeking feedback: Asking for feedback from other colleagues or superiors can provide an objective perspective on the work and how to improve it.
Knowing when to leave: If the work environment becomes too toxic, employees should consider leaving for their mental health and wellbeing. However, leaving a job before having another one lined up is not a practical or smart decision.
In conclusion, dealing with a narcissistic boss can be challenging, but employees can take steps to manage their situation. Setting boundaries, documenting everything, focusing on the work, finding allies, managing expectations, seeking feedback, and knowing when to leave are some of the ways to deal with a narcissistic boss.
