Why 'narcissistic' bosses don't want you working from home
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Updated / Wednesday, 22 Jul 2026<br>09:48
'Across all three studies, narcissism was the only factor that consistently predicted leaders' objections to remote work.' Photo: Kelly Sikkema/Unsplash
Analysis: Managers with a tendency to be self-centred and entitled believe remote working interferes with their motivations for power and status
By Libby (Elizabeth) Sander, Bond University
Have you ever wondered why your boss wants you back in the office full-time, rather than allowing hybrid work, where you can combine work from home and in an office? A fascinating study just shed fresh light on this topic.
Research published last month found narcissistic leaders – those with a tendency to be self-centred and entitled – were more likely than others to resist remote work. Why? The study concluded "it interferes with their motivations for power and status".
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From RTÉ Brainstorm, how the end of the office may also mean the end of your boss
Here's what the latest study found – and how it fits into the broader research on whether employers get better results from making staff return to the office, or allowing some flexibility to work from home.
What was behind the new study?
The recent study was conducted by three Wharton School researchers: PhD candidates Marissa Shandell and Courtney Elliott, and high-profile author and professor in organisational psychology, Adam Grant. Conducted over six years, the trio undertook three separate studies with more than 1,000 company executives, middle managers and supervisors. These examined the relationship between bosses' personalities and their views on remote work.
In the first study, the authors analysed 259 Fortune 500 chief executive officers, using established indicators of narcissism from previous research such as:
the prominence of the CEO's photograph in the annual report
the size of the CEO's signature
and relative compensation (both cash and non-cash) compared with the second-highest paid executive.
These indicators have been used in previous research as behavioural markers of narcissistic self-focus and entitlement. The researchers then examined public statements by the same CEOs about remote work.
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From RTÉ 2fm's Morning with Laura Fox, career psychologist Sinéad Brady on the ups and downs of remote working
In the second study, the researchers surveyed 359 leaders measuring narcissism using the "short dark triad" scale, alongside other traits and motivations including Machiavellianism, psychopathy, power and status motivation, and trust in employees. They then measured the leaders' self-reported attitudes toward remote and hybrid arrangements.
The final study was an experiment with 546 leaders. Participants were randomly assigned to either a "narcissism condition" group or a control group, before filling in a survey. Those in the "narcissism" group were prompted before the survey to read about successful CEOs, described as confident, self-centred visionaries willing to prioritise their own ambitions and instincts over others' input. Leaders in the narcissism group subsequently expressed greater resistance to remote work.
Across all three studies, narcissism was the only factor that consistently predicted leaders' objections to remote work. Summarising their findings for the New York Times, the authors concluded "the higher the opinions of themselves leaders expressed, the more they coveted power and status — and the more they favoured full-time return-to-office mandates."
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