Do You Work for a Narcissistic Organization?

Source: LauraMG. A frustrated man sitting at a desk. Wikimedia Creative Commons attribution.

If you feel drained, disrespected, or emotionally abused at work, you’re not alone. According to Gallup surveys, nearly 70% of American workers feel disengaged from their jobs, with comparable numbers in other industrialized countries (news.gallup.com).

We’ve heard a lot lately about Narcissistic Personality Disorders but what about narcissistic organizations? Because we spend most of our waking hours at work, our workplace has a major impact on our health. According to the American Psychological Association, a stressful work environment can lead to anxiety, depression, elevated cortisol levels, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and a long list of stress-related illnesses (apa.org).

Whether we like it or not, our work is a primary relationship. And workplaces, like individuals, can be narcissistic, excessively demanding, self-centered, and lacking in empathy.

When you think of your workplace, do any of these signs seem familiar?

1. A grandiose sense of self-importance—excessive attention to PR and corporate image.
2. Preoccupation with fantasies of organizational power and success at the expense of attention to employees and daily operations.
3. Management’s belief that the organization is “special,” habitually associating with and playing up to celebrities and high status people.
4. The organization requires excessive admiration, loyalty, and 24/7 devotion from workers, denying them balance in their personal lives.
5. The organization acts with a sense of entitlement, expecting unquestioning employee obedience and compliance with corporate demands.
6. The organization is exploitative, takes advantage of employees using guilt, threats, or admonitions about “the common good.”
7. The organization lacks empathy. Its policies and procedure are inflexible when dealing with employee needs. It treats workers like replaceable parts.
8. The organization is overly envious of other organizations, driven by underlying fear of competition and financial anxiety, resulting in stagnant wages and major cuts in operating budgets and benefits while maintaining high levels of pay for upper management.
9. The organization demonstrates arrogant attitudes toward employees, becoming harsh and vindictive when workers propose alternative approaches or question the status quo.

According to the DSM-5, a person with five or more similar criteria would be diagnosed with Narcissistic Personality Disorder (APA, 2013). How many of these pertain to your organization?

The American Psychological Association offers advice for coping with a stressful workplace—including stress management programs, mindfulness practice, physical exercise, taking ten-minute breaks in a busy work day, and clarifying work expectations with your manager. (apa.org). You could also start looking for another job. But if your workplace has been seriously narcissistic, you may need therapy to help you recover from the abuse, get a clearer sense of your choices, and make the changes you'll need to live a healthier life.

References

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition: DSM-5. Washington, D. C. :Author.

For information about a stressful workplace and how to deal with it, see http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/job-stress.aspx

For statistics about worker disengagement, see http://news.gallup.com/poll/181289/majority-employees-not-engaged-despite-gains-2014.aspx