Work
Narcissistic boss, client, or partner
Same cycle — idealize, use, devalue — with power over income. Your leverage is documentation, allies, and options.
Patterns at work
- Public praise / private humiliation
- Credit theft; blame dumping
- Moving targets; impossible deadlines then “performance issues”
- Triangulation between teammates
- Retaliation after any boundary
Countermeasures
- Confirm goals and feedback in writing
- Workplace incident log every time
- Gray rock in meetings; no emotional supply
- Build skip-level and peer visibility ethically (share status, not gossip)
- Quietly rebuild résumé and runway — see job exit
Full context: work playbook. Scripts: work scripts.