Narcissism At Work3 Juli 2025

Listener Letter: Meet Aisha

We're sharing the story of Aisha, a professional who entered a role at a start-up sold as inclusive and progressive, only to be met with manipulation, erratic behaviour, and emotional abuse by a narcissistic leader.

Aisha describes being gaslit, love-bombed, and constantly destabilised through inconsistent feedback, intrusive WhatsApp messages, and power plays tied to vulnerability. The episode touches on themes like the illusion of inclusion, weaponised empathy, and the erosion of confidence under narcissistic leadership, particularly when masked as ‘empowered’ startup culture. Dr. Daksha Hirani offers psychological insights on boundary-setting, journaling for self-validation, and how to move forward while honouring your values and worth.

Listener Letters are real stories submitted by the Other Box community, sharing lived experiences of navigating toxic workplaces and narcissistic dynamics.

Each letter is anonymised, read aloud, and followed by expert insight from clinical psychologist Dr. Daksha Hirani. Together, we unpack the behavioural patterns at play and share tools for clarity, validation, and recovery.

We hope these real-life accounts allow you to recognise the signs sooner and start focusing on how to reclaim your life.

Connect with Other Box: otherbox.co/podcast for further resources | @otherbox

Subscribe to get new episodes as soon as they drop.

Narcissism At Work is a co-production from Other Box and Breaking Atoms.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Avsnitt(18)

Listener Letter: Meet Jay

What happens when harm comes from someone you expected to feel safest with? When your shared identity becomes the very weapon used against you? In this final Listener Letter, Jay shares the story of h...

14 Aug 202514min

How to build healthy inclusive workplaces

In our final episode, we explore what it actually means to build a healthy workplace, shifting our focus from toxic behaviours to constructive solutions. We welcome back clinical psychologist Dr. Daks...

11 Aug 202553min

Listener Letter: Meet Dani

In this week’s Listener Letter, we meet Dani, who shares their experience of a working relationship that spanned eight years, one that began in mutual respect and creative fire, and slowly devolved in...

7 Aug 202512min

Boundaries, Burnout and Breaking Free from Toxic Workplaces: How to Protect Yourself Against Narcissists

What happens when trying to protect yourself at work gets twisted into “not being a team player”? Or when being firm gets labelled as “aggressive”?In Episode 7 of Narcissism At Work, Leyya and Dr. Dak...

4 Aug 202535min

Listener Letter: Meet Faisa

In this bonus episode, Faisa writes in as a manager whose confidence was shattered by a direct report who consistently blurred the line between vulnerability and manipulation. From rejecting basic fee...

31 Juli 202511min

The Mental and Physical Toll of Working with a Narcissist

Have you ever left a job feeling like a shell of yourself—anxious, exhausted, second-guessing everything, and unsure how it got so bad?In this episode of Narcissism at Work, Leyya and Clinical Psychol...

28 Juli 202538min

Listener Letter: Meet Hannah

In this Listener Letter, we hear from Hannah, a former employee who found herself working under the same narcissistic CEO twice, a decade apart.At first, she returned believing things would be differe...

24 Juli 202514min

Is HR complicit?

Have you ever dealt with an HR team that protects toxic leaders and silences the people they hurt? In this episode of Narcissism at Work, we explore how narcissism can show up not just in individuals ...

21 Juli 202541min