Difficult colleagues are part and parcel of any workplace and can sometimes cause many arguments. However, narcissists take the term “difficult colleague” to the next level as they have different behaviour and mindset, making them tricky to deal with.

If you want to know if you have a narcissist at work and learn how to deal with them, here are several signs that will help you identify them:

Steals Credit From Others

If the team does well, narcissists will step up to take all the credit and downplay the role of others in the team’s success. They are even to go behind to claim the credit before you do.

Always Demands Attention

Narcissists often appear as entitled and above everyone else. When they feel something important is happening, they will do their best to get involved and be the centre of attention.

Does Not Like To Hear Negative Feedback

Narcissists do not like hearing negative feedback, especially regarding their work. They become very defensive and blame others for the feedback when it happens.

Constantly Disrupts Conversations

Since they love to be the centre of attention, narcissists would constantly butt in any conversation they think they should be involved in. When they do get into your conversation, they will press for their wants and needs rather than taking note of what others would want or need. You will also notice that they will do their best to control the conversation and even end it even if other people need to speak as well.

Always Asking For Reassurance

Some narcissists, especially those who are covert in their narcissistic tendencies, may present themselves as insecure compared to those who are vocal about their beliefs. With this said, they will often ask people to constantly reassure them throughout the work day to get their attention and have it all to themselves.

Persuasive But Won’t Follow Through

Because of their capability to charm others, they can be very persuasive to get what they want and create the image they want people to have about them. However, they are not genuine about themselves, and they don’t follow through with their promises or meet the expectations people have about them. Some of the more crafty ones would say they have learnt their lesson, but in reality, they are only doing it to get you back for their following scheme.

Passive-aggressive

Whenever a narcissist defends themselves, they often resort to gaslighting to point the blame on others and be very passive-aggressive toward those they see as against them.

Toxic

In connection to the previous number, many narcissists love chaos to get everyone’s attention and be more powerful. They will easily set up scenarios where they can take over and throw tantrums if someone disagrees. In the most severe cases, they are abusive and make you feel beneath them to boost their ego.

Narcissists may make your work life difficult if you are unprepared to deal with them. Take the list above as your cue to determine if you are indeed working with a narcissist, and do your research on what actions you can take to deal with them.

Don’t let a toxic working environment drag you down. Check out these articles on toxic relationships in the workplace:
What Is A Toxic Workplace?
Guest Post: Triumphing Over Workplace Bullying
How to Deal with Bias at Your Workplace

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