Workplace consequences of individual narcissism

Variation across dimensions of narcissism

A diversity of studies have explored the effects of narcissism on motivation at work.  Nevertheless, the effects of narcissism on motivation remain contentious and cloudy.  One possible cause of this ambiguity is that many of these studies conflate the various dimensions of narcissism.  To illustrate

• some research conflates grandiose narcissism—in which individuals attempt to exaggerate and to display their capabilities and achievements—and vulnerable narcissism—in which individuals strive to undermine or blame other people to maintain their status,
• similarly, research conflates distinct variants of grandiose narcissism—such as narcissistic admiration, in which individuals strive to attract esteem, narcissistic rivalry, in which individuals strive to defeat other people, and communal narcissism, in which individuals strive to be perceived as the most liked. 

Biolik (2025), from the University of Silesia in Katowice, conducted a study that was designed to overcome this limitation.  Specifically, Biolik examined whether four dimensions of narcissism–narcissistic admiration, narcissistic rivalry, communal narcissism, and vulnerable narcissism—each predict various facets of motivation and engagement at work.  Specifically, 500 Polish employees completed a series of scales including

• the Polish adaptation of the Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Questionnaire,
• the Communal Narcissism Inventory (Gebauer et al., 2012),
• the Hypersensitive Narcissism Scale to measure vulnerable narcissism,
• as well as measures of meaning at work, harmonious and obsession passion at work, work engagement, and conflicts between work and family responsibilities.

This range of measures helps distinguish motivation at work that is sustainable and motivation at work that might elicit various complications. To illustrate, Vallerand et al. (2003) distinguish two forms of passion: harmonious and obsessive passion.  Harmonious passion emanates when individuals immerse themselves in a beloved activity.  Obsessive passion emanates from a compulsion in individuals to complete these activities.  As Carbonneau et al. (2010) verified, obsessive passion is more likely than harmonious passion to elicit negative emotions, from anxiety to exhaustion. 

As the study that Biolik (2025) conducted revealed, whether narcissism was beneficial or detrimental varied, to a modest degree, across the various dimensions of this trait.  That is

• narcissism admiration was positively associated with a sense of meaning at work, harmonious passion, work engagement, work addiction, and conflict between work and family,
• narcissistic rivalry was inversely associated with harmonious passion, but positively related to work addiction and conflict between work and family,
• communal narcissism was positively associated with a sense of meaning at work, obsessive passion, work engagement, work addiction, and conflict between work and family,
• vulnerable narcissism was inversely associated with work engagement but positively associated with harmonious passion, obsession passion, and work addiction.

These findings imply that, in general, narcissism tend to be positively associated with meaning and passion at work as well as work addiction or conflict between work and family.  This finding is consistent with the notion that people who experience narcissism may perceive work as an opportunity to boost their status—their key motivation.  Consequently, these individuals feel compelled to thrive at work, eliciting a sense of meaning or passion in the workplace.  Yet, because of their preoccupation with status, rather than relationships, they may experience an obsession or addiction to work, sometimes forgoing relationships and other significant life goals. 

This pattern of results did not vary considerably across the various dimensions of narcissism.  Nevertheless, in contrast to the other dimensions, narcissistic rivalry and vulnerable narcissism were not as likely to predict work engagement but more likely to predict obsessive compassion. 

Explanations

Presumably, in contrast to narcissism admiration and communal narcissism, narcissistic rivalry and vulnerable narcissism often coincide with neuroticism.  And this neuroticism might direct attention to potential complications and problems (Gorman et al., 2012).  These individuals, therefore, perceive work as necessary to prevent these problems, eliciting a sense of obligation or obsessive passion, and not as opportunities to achieve gains.    and motivation to learn or change.  That is, if individuals experience self-compassion, they feel consoled—as if receiving comfort from a supportive relative or friend—after failures or problems unfold.  The unpleasant emotions these challenges elicit abate rapidly.  Individuals can thus manage their problems constructively (for a detailed account and evidence, see Inwood & Ferrari, 2018).    

Practices that boost the motivation of narcissistic individuals

Narcissism does not only affect the motivation of individuals but also influences the practices or circumstances that promote motivation. To illustrate, people often utilise self-talk to motivate themselves.  For example, they might repeat to themselves phrases like “I can win this session” or “You can do it”. 

Interestingly, as Abdoli et al. (2025) revealed, whether individuals should utilise first-person pronouns, such as “I”, or second-person pronouns, such as “you”, to motivate themselves depends on their level of narcissism.  In particular

• narcissistic cyclists feel especially motivated—and thus can cycle over a longer period—if they utilise first-person pronouns during self-talk, such as “I can win this session”,
• in contrast, other cyclists feel especially motivated—and thus can cycle over a longer period—if they utilise second-person pronouns during self-talk, such as “you can win this session”.

To explain this finding, Abdoli et al. (2025) observed that narcissists tend to be especially concerned about their personal needs.  First-person pronouns, such as “I”, thus resonate with narcissistic individuals.  So, messages that include first-person pronouns, such as “I can win”, are especially likely to inspire these individuals. 

In contrast, people who are not narcissistic are more inclined to change when they experience a sense of distance from themselves—as if observing themselves from the perspective of someone else.   That is, when people observe themselves from afar, they can more readily ascertain how to change.  Consequently, messages that include second-person pronouns, such as “you can win”, are especially likely to enable these individuals to improve their strategies on how to motivate themselves.    

When leaders exhibit grandiose narcissism, they often pursue courses of action and initiate behaviours that are designed to benefit themselves and not their organisation, called self-serving behaviour.  These behaviours and choices elicit distrust in their staff.  However, some practices and features of organisations can mitigate these deleterious effects of grandiose narcissism.   

An illustration

To illustrate, in one study of 546 teams in a range of Dutch organisations, Braun et al. (2025) uncovered some findings that verify this possibility. In this study, leaders completed some measures, and their followers completed some other measures.  Specifically, the leaders completed a measure of grandiose narcissism: the Narcissistic Personality Inventory. The leaders also answered questions that assess the climate of this organisation, including

• the degree to which the climate encourages staff to compete with each other, called a performance climate, such as “In my organisation, there exists a competitive rivalry among the employees”,
• the degree to which the climate encourages staff to cooperate and to share information, knowledge and ideas, called a mastery climate, such as “In my organization, cooperation and mutual exchange of knowledge are encouraged” (Nerstad et al., 2013).

The followers then evaluated the extent to which these leaders demonstrate self-serving behaviour, such as assume credit for successes.  Finally, these followers assessed the degree to which these leaders are trustworthy and dependable. 

The data were subjected to multilevel moderated mediation models.  Narcissistic leaders were perceived as untrustworthy, partly because they demonstrated self-serving behaviour. The degree to which narcissistic leaders were perceived as self-servicing was more pronounced in a performance climate and less pronounced in a mastery climate.  Presumably, when the climate encourages staff to prioritise learning over performance, narcissistic leaders are not as obsessed with status.  So, these leaders may withhold some of their natural tendencies to prioritise their personal interests over the needs of their company.