'Narcissist' bosses are more likely to oppose work from home, studies show. But are they right?

'Narcissist' bosses are more likely to oppose work from home, studies show. But are they right? Sadie Harley Scientific Editor Andrew Zinin Chief Editor 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 in June found narcissistic leaders—those with a tendency to be self-centered and entitled—were more likely than others to resist remote work. Why?

The study concluded "it interferes with their motivations for power and status." 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 prompted the new study? The recent study was conducted by three Wharton School researchers: Ph.D.

candidates Marissa Shandell and Courtney Elliott, and high-profile author and professor of organizational 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 analyzed 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 behavioral markers of narcissistic self-focus and entitlement. The researchers then examined public statements by the same CEOs about remote work.

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-centered visionaries willing to prioritize 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. Summarizing their findings for The New York Times, the authors concluded, "The higher the opinions of leaders expressed, the more they coveted power and status—and the more they favored full-time return-to-office mandates." International return-to-office trends Since the pandemic ended, some corporate leaders have pushed harder than others to get staff back to the office.