'She is a textbook narcissist': Top Nightmare Coworker Stories of the Year

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Dec 9, 2023 8:00 AM EST

A terrible coworker can completely ruin your year. So if you feel neither here nor there about the people in your office, let's just say that you have quite a lot to be thankful for, and if that's not apparent, look no further than this collection of nightmare anecdotes compiled from Reddit's r/coworkerstories subreddit. 

Some of these stories range from coworkers with no boundaries to coworkers who keep shirking their responsibilities to the ones who you discovered get paid more for doing the same work with less desirable results. Perhaps this is the one aspect of corporate culture that applies to life itself: don't be selfish and don't be mean. You don't have to necessarily be the kind of team player who doesn't prioritize your own wants and needs; that's an aspect of corporate culture that we are not supporting here. However, choosing not to be an awful presence in the office feels like doing the bare minimum to avoid more nightmare coworkers. 

Keep scrolling below for the full stories and feel free to share your own reactions and anecdotes. When you're done, check out this list of chaotic restaurant stories.

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  • 01
    Top Coworker Stories Flig Bạn là Kode ● Paul Dale Al "My narcissistic coworker has no boundaries"
    via Austin Distel
  • 02
    Update: My dumb coworker got the same bonus as me For those who are interested, this is an update from my post 5 days ago.
    via u/AssignmentFit461
  • 03
    I spoke to my manager Monday & told him I'd be leaving, taking the other job. I told him why, the struggles with my coworker and her inability to do anything on her own, the constant barrage of questions about the same thing all day every day, how I do her work for or with her, then do 5x more of my own work, and then we get paid the same bonus. A bonus that's supposed to be based on performance.
    via u/AssignmentFit461
  • 04
    He said last months bonus was just like a participation trophy kind of bonus and no, he didn't feel like she earned it, but he thought she was getting better, getting the hang of things, and was he wrong? He spent a couple of hours with her himself the next couple of days to see for himself.
    via u/AssignmentFit461
  • 05
    This morning, I had a meeting with my boss and his Boss. Long story short, I'm getting a raise & my "cap" for my bonus is being doubled, so I'll actually get paid for the work I do.
    via u/AssignmentFit461
  • 06
    My coworker, Rita, was given the choice of either 1) transfer to another contract where she may be more successful, or 2) leave the company. She was supposed to give them her decision today by the end of the day today. I don't know what she chose.
    via u/AssignmentFit461
  • 07
    So I just wanted to say thank you for those who told me to stand up for myself! I did, and it paid off.
    via u/AssignmentFit461
  • 08
    First orientation and my coworkers already shamed and laughed at me for my money habits... So just this week I moved to a new city by myself, am adjusting to paying my own bills, and finding financial responsibility for the first time in my life. Since I've never lived by myself I'm trying to learn how to handle my new paycheck.
    via u/chrollooooooo
  • 09
    Anyways at orientation I was filling out paperwork where I denied a biweekly donation of $15 from my paycheck. When my new coworkers saw my paperwork where I denied the donation, she cracked a joke.
    via u/chrollooooooo
  • 10
    "Girl, you don't wanna help feed the poor? A little goes along way for them you know". At the moment, all I could do was laugh, but I sat there thinking about it. $15 every two weeks really adds up... that's $390 a year.
    via u/chrollooooooo
  • 11
    I know it's not a lot in comparison but who are they to tell me how to use my money. Or am I the for denying donation? I feel bad but I keep thinking about how high the cost-of-living is in my area if and if I could afford this... This same coworker also commented on how nice my new car was (which was a gift from my dad) but I feel like she was mocking me... should I call her out or am I being dramatic.
    via u/chrollooooooo
  • 12
    TrifleMeNot OP, you do not have to contribute to their charity. You do not have to give money to anyone for a birthday or "bosses day", or "admin day". She was trying to shame you. Next time you say, "thank you but I have my own charities that I donate to". Done. Say no more. They don't get to know what your charity is anyways. It could be the "Chrollooooo Trust for Disadvantaged Redditors". 201 Reply Share
    via u/chrollooooooo
  • 13
    I have a greedy coworker. I (35f) have a coworker somewhere in his 20s. He's new to the job, but makes quite a bit more money than I do. As happens with new coworkers, I've helped show him the ropes. He's a bit aloof, not overly friendly or open, which is fine.
    via u/thegrassisgreenrr
  • 14
    The weird part is that he seems to feel very comfortable asking for food from me. It's always in a joking tone but I think it's as . I make my coffee at home and bring it to work every day. He commented on how good it smelled, I told him where to get it (it's a grocery store brand flavored coffee). He follows up with "well, if you wanted to bring in a little bag of it for me, I wouldn't say no." I laughed it off, but now it happens multiple times a week.
    via u/thegrassisgreenrr
  • 15
    He'll ask what I brought for lunch and then say "if you don't want to finish it all I can eat it". He'll ask me for advice on how to make a certain recipe, and then ask me to make it for him. I brought cookies to the office for everyone - he took 3 before anyone else had a chance to touch them.
    via u/thegrassisgreenrr
  • 16
    A few days ago we were talking about salaries with another coworker, and I disclosed my wage. He was shocked that I make as little as I make. I told him to think about that the next time he asks for something from me. I thought that would put an end to it, but at the end of the day he asked what I was making for dinner tonight, and asked me to bring some in for him the next day. I told him to stop it.
    via u/thegrassisgreenrr
  • 17
    It's starting to me off. What would you say to this guy if he continues this behavior? Reasonable to ridiculous responses encouraged. Tl/dr-coworker wants me to give him my food despite knowing I make much less money than him.
    via u/thegrassisgreenrr
  • 18
    I work remotely and one of my coworkers calls me non stop just to talk. But she's recording me I think. I echo loudly every time I speak with her and its only her. Why would she do this? I work remotely for a call center. I'm in one state and I have an older married coworker who lives in another state. She's near 60 and lives with her husband and she has grown kids and several grands. She seems friendly but she calls several times a day just to talk. She doesn't just call me she hounds every sin
    via u/Beginning-Emu-4647
  • 19
    It's strange. We've never met in person. We only see each other through teams. But why would she record me? And why does she call so much? What is her problem?
    via u/Beginning-Emu-4647
  • 20
    My narcissistic coworker has no boundaries to the point where I don't feel safe. I (32F) got on this app just to get it out because I feel like I'm going crazy. I'm sorry if I'm doing anything wrong, I have never used reddit before. There is so much to tell to paint the full picture. I will try to keep it short, but still... this is going to be a long one.
    via u/PsychologicalOven943
  • 21
    I work with my husband, Bob (32M) at his family's business. He is the manager, but planning to take over, because his mom, Barbara (60F) is ready to retire. It is a family business, but we do have employees who are not part of the family. Jennifer (34F) is one of them. She worked for us for a few years before she decided to get a job at the beach, but she came back about a year ago and we hired her back. Big mistake. My husband and I have been having problems with her since she's been working wi
    via u/PsychologicalOven943
  • 22
    trying to act like she's in charge, trying to manipulate other coworkers to turn them against Bob and me. But the worst of them all is her using my mother in law to get her way. For whatever reason Barbara likes Jennifer. My guess is that because Jennifer agrees with her on everything no matter what. Technically my in laws still own the business and they are stopping us from firing Jennifer. I don't think they have ever fired anybody in the 50 years this business has been open. Barbara likes to
    via u/PsychologicalOven943
  • 23
    She is a textbook narcisist. Since I realized that I've been trying to educate myself on the matter and it's been okay. I've been ignoring her and calling her out when she does something not okay at work. If we only had to deal with her at work I think I could handle it, but unfortunately that's not the case.
    via u/PsychologicalOven943
  • 24
    How do I put this? Jennifer has kind of an unhealthy obsession with this family. It's like she's desperately trying to be part of it and that is why, I think, she's trying to undermine Bob and me at work.
    via u/PsychologicalOven943
  • 25
    She thinks she has a chance to take over the business. She's tried to date my brother in law. When that didn't happen, she moved onto Bob's cousin. That didn't work either so now she's back to my brother in law, even tho he's obviously not interested. She has no boundaries to a point when we're trying to keep everything about our personal life a secret.
    via u/PsychologicalOven943
  • 26
    Barbara was hospitalized recently with a very serious issue. Like life threatening serious, so she hasn't been to work for over a month now. At first I didn't go to see her when she was in the hospital, because I wasn't sure if she wanted me see her like that. She couldn't eat or go to the bathroom and she was on a lot of pain medication. I decided to go see her
    via u/PsychologicalOven943
  • 27
    at least one time because I didn't want her to think I don't care about her. I do. Close family members were on a schedule to make sure that we dont visit her too much and let her rest. We got to the hospital right about when she was supposed to be waking up from her nap, but security wouldn't let us in because she was having visitors already. You guessed it, it was Jennifer. She told nobody, that she was going to do that, and she didn't ask for permission either. Bob and I were furious. Jennife
    via u/PsychologicalOven943
  • 28
    again but Barbara was already home at that point. Again, no warning or asking anybody if she could go. The reason why I'm writing this is because of what happened today. Bob and I have been trying not to let her know where we live. We have a reason not to do that. One of our new employees, Susan (24F) told us that Jennifer showed up to her house without an invitation to talk about how mean Bob and I are. I
    via u/PsychologicalOven943
  • 29
    promise you we are not. Susan didn't think so either, because she warned us how much Jennifer talks about us. But today, Jennifer casually mentioned where we lived and I was shocked. We warned family that we didn't want anybody to know and I believe they respected it. I asked her how she knew. She said "I was just driving by and saw you outside". Which is the exact same way she found Susan's house. We live in an apartment building close, but not too close to our business. I say that because we d
    via u/PsychologicalOven943
  • 30
    around the entrance and we don't go out much. We also don't think she had a reason to be there to "accidentally" see us. I can't explain it, but I feel... I know she followed us home. It gives me the creeps and I don't feel safe. She overshares everything, even to strangers so God knows who she's told where we live.
    via u/PsychologicalOven943
  • 31
    I do not know what to do. My husband and I agree that this is completely unacceptable and invasion of our privacy, but Bob's parents don't really think anything of it because "she's always so nice". It's almost like my in laws believe everything Jennifer says and don't even realize they have boundaries that she's crossing with every breath she's taking.
    via u/PsychologicalOven943
  • 32
    If anybody has any advice, I'd be happy to hear it, but please be nice. I feel like being able to rant about it to strangers on the internet is already helping. My mental health is at its lowest and I feel like I am loosing control. I have done a lot for this business. I worked 16 hours a day during Covid to help keep it afloat. I care about it. But it seems like my own family keeps choosing Jennifer over me over and over and over again, because she brainwashed
    via u/PsychologicalOven943
  • 33
    them. My relationship completely changed with my inlaws. I think they're convinced that I like drama and complain about her only because I don't like her. Oh I actually don't think that. Barbara told me. If you read the whole thing, thank you.
    via u/PsychologicalOven943

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