How to deal with a narc at work?
Currently doing an internship and I am sitting next to a narc of an intern.
1) He snakes me every time he gets the chance
2) He tries to out due me in every single way
3) Takes credit for things he didn’t do
4) Caught him on my computer while I was talking at a peer’s desk
The culture where I work at is pretty open in terms of arguing, swearing, as long as you 1) have position of power and/or 2) have good reason.
I’m thinking of explicitly calling him out next time he does something. What would you do? Also, he’s for sure a sociopath. His weakness is he’s very awkward, has no social skills (avoids all team night outs/conversations) and everyone finds him weird.
I went to a very elite private high school that was full of these types. You say "Everyone finds him weird" in that case you actually have very little to do. People in IB have brains and from what your describing this guy is not good at hiding his weaknesses. I believe this guy is going to F up. Do not worry focus on yourself and call him out if you feel you need to.
Not to be "that guy", but it is waaaay more common than not that some entitled, undeserving kid of a rich/connected prick gets a job that they don't deserve. In my experience it is at minimum 30-40% of of the workforce: idiots whose mummy and daddy know someone.
The world is full of Aunt Beckies, most are just better at getting away with it.
One thing to add; would keep my distance also socially. If this guy is this bad, people will know about it, and you don't want to be associated with the person more than you have to be.
then you'd be the narc. Oh and snitches get stitches.
When I was an analyst, I had a similar situation. There were 4 analysts in my group at the time: two second years (both great guys) and two first years (me and the narc). The narc would always 'spy' on us and try to gather intel. He would try to catch us doing anything not work related and would mention it to HR or our MD. One time he tried to sabotage a project I was working on with a VP by trying to say that there were all these legal/compliance issues I needed to look into, but there weren't and he was just trying to gum up the process and sabotage the project. On top of all of this he was awkward and antisocial.
The best method to deal with these types of people:
IGNORE - Do not voluntarily engage him, do not make conversation with him, do not invite him out for drinks. The only time you should be talking to this guy is for a mission critical step on a project. This way you give him less of a chance to bring you down.
DEFEND - If you catch him on your computer, call him out on it.
PROTECT - This is critical. You need to protect yourself from people like that. When you get up, even for a minute and he is around, lock your computer screen. Make sure you give yourself credit when you do something ect.
At the end of the day, these guys are obsessed with playing politics and as other posters said, they will eventually F up. He is wasting massive amounts of time and energy playing these stupid games which is time he can spend being productive and adding value, but he is choosing not to. This will eventually reflect poorly on him. He is also socially awkward as you mentioned; in this industry people will pick up on his lack of interpersonal skills and that will come back to haunt him (ie no return offer).
As for my story the narc analyst spent so much time playing politics, spying on us, attempting to sabotage us try and reporting us to HR/MDs that the quality of his work product declined. Over time people picked up and he was ranked bottom bucket all around come bonus season. After a year and a few months he was actually let go for a variety of reasons.
ive dealt with a narc twice, and twice tried to sort it out over a drink. neither time worked, you can't reverse engineer their psyche. They'll use getting drinks as another way to lower your guard. Simon says lays it out perfectly.
PISS IN HIS MOUTH to show dominance
ok ANALyst 1 in RE - Comm Anonymous
Play it nice and wait for your chance to strike. Then utterly demolish him. Move in silence and violence, brotha.
mess with him. tell him your group head was looking for him when he gets back from the bathroom. answer his phone and tell people you haven't seen him all day. invite him to meetings that don't exist. send chats to him on slack or whatever like "haha, right? what an idiot" and follow up with "sorry, wrong chat." hide his mouse, hide his chair, switch the plugs on his monitors so they are all messed up. unplug his phone. unpair his wireless headset. hide old bananas in his desk drawers. tell him he smells like booze every morning. be creative.
and at the very least, call him out in front of everyone when he's being sketchy and looking at your computer.
I dealt with these types as an intern and analyst. The key is to hasten his fall by highlighting his inadequacies without engaging in overt warfare. Say something off-handed in front of him about how beneficial the extra-curricular time with your colleagues has been - these types are incredibly neurotic (due to the fact that they can't empathize with normal human behavior) and if he thinks that your socializing is giving you a leg up, it is sure to lure him out.
If he is an awkward little suck-ass, cocktail hour with him will be a dumpster fire. There is nothing senior guys hate more than being badgered in their free-time by an annoying hardo intern. Imagine, trying to blow off a little steam after work and having to listen to the dipshit intern brag and undermine his colleagues.
At this point, just sit back and let him fuck the dog all on his own. There are so many ways for this to win: If he drinks too much due to his social anxiety; if he tries throwing an established member of the team under the bus; if he gets creepy around girls (the sexually repressed sociopath can't resist). Just make sure you keep your distance and don't argue or rebut anything he says - you'll look cool and he'll become the office pariah.