Good leadership can make or break a workplace experience.

In this story, an employee described how a narcissistic boss set people up to fail by withholding information and support.

She shared that instead of helping employees succeed, the boss would create confusion and then blame them for poor performance.

The contrast between toxic and healthy management became painfully clear through these experiences.

Have you experienced this kind of management at work? Read the full story below.

They disempower you so that they can look down on you

A narcissistic boss will deliberately withhold information and training from you.

They will generally treat you as though you are unimportant and insignificant.

They do this so that they can label you a failure. They disempower you on purpose.

This employee believes it’s not difficult to be kind.

If you genuinely want someone to succeed, you treat them in ways that will bring about success.

You give them the tools they need to do the job. You make sure you are clear and concise with communication.

You follow up to make sure that they understand everything. You treat them with respect and ensure that they feel supported and solid.

Treating someone like a human being is not difficult. It is not rocket science.

Yet a narcissistic boss manages to do the exact opposite of that.

He says narcissistic bosses cannot recognize good work.

When you inevitably start to flounder, they set the stage for you to do so.

They sit back, shake their head, and say, “What a mess. They just cannot do the job. They are just not up to par. How unfortunate for them.”

All the while, they take no responsibility for putting you in that position in the first place.

He adds that no one can survive this kind of leader.

No healthy person can survive under a narcissistic boss.

Just being around them will cause you to deteriorate in so many ways.

They are walking death. They will destroy you.

We all have that one boss, right? And that kind of behavior isn’t just frustrating, it’s genuinely damaging over time.

A manager who withholds support and blames employees is setting up failure on purpose. And I think no one can simply thrive under this kind of work environment. Do you agree?

Let’s read the responses of other people on Reddit to this story.

This user shares their personal experience.

This person makes a valid point.

Another similar story.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a teenager who wants to work, but his mom thinks working past 8pm is too late for high school.

Finally, here’s a sad account, too.

A bad boss creates problems and then blames you for them.