10 Clear Signs Your Coworker Is Threatened By You

While a little competition in the workplace might help bring out the best in everyone involved, an atmosphere rooted in envy, fear, or jealousy can do the exact opposite. This post will help you recognize signs that your coworker is threatened by you, and help you navigate the situation. 1. They Don’t Want You Involved […]

The post 10 Clear Signs Your Coworker Is Threatened By You appeared first on Career Sherpa.

While a little competition in the workplace might help bring out the best in everyone involved, an atmosphere rooted in envy, fear, or jealousy can do the exact opposite.

This post will help you recognize signs that your coworker is threatened by you, and help you navigate the situation.

1. They Don’t Want You Involved with Important Projects

One sign that a coworker feels threatened by you in the workplace is exclusion from important projects or meetings. Think about your interactions with your colleague. They might try to meet with others behind your back to complete work in secrecy or actively attempt to get you removed from projects.

This behavior is often an attempt to lower your visibility and involvement. Your coworker might feel threatened by what you’ve accomplished thus far and may be insecure about their own performance compared to yours. By trying to leave you out of major projects, your coworker aims to benefit from these opportunities while preventing you from future success.

2. They Display Poor Body Language

It’s not just the words people say that reflect their true feelings about you. Colleagues can be relatively sweet when interacting with you, but body language rarely lies!

Pay attention to how your coworker acts around you. You may notice that their body language appears cold and negative. Some examples of this include crossed arms, a somewhat threatening posture, or less-than-welcoming facial expressions.

When interacting with you directly, your colleague might subconsciously invade your personal space or turn brief moments into an unfriendly rivalry. For example, some people use overly firm handshakes or refuse to give you enough room when passing in a hallway.

Those behaviors are subtle but say a lot about what your coworker thinks of you.

3. They Always Criticize Your Work or Ideas

Disagreements are bound to happen in the workplace. It’s actually one of the most productive elements of working with others. People won’t agree with all of your ideas or suggestions, and that’s alright. Differing ideas lead to innovation and creative problem-solving.

In a healthy team environment, those disagreements aren’t a big deal, and people typically reach a compromise.

But one possible sign that a coworker feels threatened by you is that they constantly disagree with everything you do. They might disdain your decisions or become combative with your suggestions.

There’s nothing wrong with disagreements, but you might find that one coworker seems to never be on your side. Those disagreements might be intentional. Even if your ideas are reasonable and beneficial, people who are intimidated by you might find some way to spin them into something negative.

4. They Spread Rumors or Gossip About You

Gossip is an unfortunate byproduct of office environments. You’d think that rumor-spreading is something that most people leave in high school, but plenty of adults can partake in it as well.

Most workplaces have a gossip mill, which can play a big part in creating a toxic work environment. If your coworker constantly gossips about you, potentially spreading false rumors, it may mean they’re threatened by you.

A coworker may turn to gossip if they feel jealous or threatened, talking behind your back at every possible turn. In many cases, it’s an attempt to rally others in their disdain for your success or a way to justify their negative emotions toward you.

Unfortunately, some coworkers may even resort to spreading false rumors about you. In these cases, the behavior may be an attempt to ruin your reputation and harm your chances of success moving forward.

5. They Attempt to Take Credit for Work You’ve Done

Here’s a particularly frustrating issue that can make your blood boil! Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for people to take credit for the work of others. It’s the reality of working in a competitive environment where people strive to advance their careers.

You may notice this behavior coming from a specific colleague. They might try to bring work to a manager before you in order to take credit for a project’s success. Or, your coworker might try to speak up first in a meeting to present an idea you had during a group brainstorming session.

Their goal here is to gain a professional edge over you. They feel insecure about their own performance, so they try to take credit for your work to minimize your impact and gain recognition.

6. There’s an Unhealthy Level of Competition

There’s nothing wrong with a little competition. In fact, many employers encourage it to bring out the best in a team. However, some coworkers may take the competitive spirit too far.

Competition takes an unhealthy turn when it’s ever-present. Your colleague may turn everything you do into a rivalry, from menial work to major projects. Managers often use competition to foster innovation, but not every situation needs to be a battle.

If your coworker constantly turns everything into a competiti