6 Sneaky Signs Your Coworker is Threatened by You

Are you wondering if your coworker is threatened by you?

The workplace is a sensitive place where everything seems so sophisticated on the surface but there lies deep webs of power dynamics underneath and everyone hides their true face behind a friendly façade.

Things can easily become bitter between colleagues and can result in big damage if you don’t decipher it timely.

But you don’t need to think twice, as within the next few minutes we’ll help you uncover if your coworker is threatened by you.

You’ll be able to see true faces and hear their inner voice. So without wasting any time, let’s get started.

Subtle Signs Your Coworker Is Threatened by You

Look for the following signs to investigate if your coworker feels insecure because of you:

1. He Deviates from The Baseline Behavior When with You

You must have heard about Julius Caesar. After his death, his right-hand man, Mark Anthony, who was a very flamboyant person suddenly became very reserved.

Augustus, the great-nephew of Caesar noticed this and concluded that Antony was up to something which later proved to be true.

Similarly, if your coworker treats you differently than others and you can see him deviating from his usual behavior, it could mean a lot. It could also mean your coworker is threatened by you.

Understanding this isn’t very difficult. We have a baseline personality and behavior through which we prefer to operate. Just like your dominant hand.

If you are a right-handed person, you’ll naturally use your right hand unless there is a reason. In the same way, a person only deviates from his baseline behavior when there’s a reason.

Similarly, if your coworker is threatened by you, interacting with you will naturally make him feel insecure which will be manifested in his behavioral deviation.

2. He Tries to Hold Back Information from You

If you’re working on a project with your colleague and constantly find yourself with thin information, only to ask other team members and come to know that your colleague knew all of it all along and did all of this on purpose, it’s an alarming sign.

It’s even more obvious if you asked your colleague about the information but he told you he doesn’t have any, don’t think of it as a coincidence.

Let’s understand it from the psychological perspective.

It’s one of the clearest signs your coworker is threatened by you. Your coworker thinks you are a capable person and can easily outshine him if you keep going at your current pace.

To slow you down, he withholds information from you so that you do not deliver your targets efficiently and thus do not outperform him which you otherwise could.

3. He Finds Excuses to Criticize Your Work

Small-scale conflicts and criticism are quite common in the workplace and not a thing to worry about. But if it escalates to the level that your coworker actively seeks a chance to throw dirt at you, then we are talking trouble.

It is a clear sign that someone doesn’t get along well with you, including your coworker being threatened by you. If he seems to invest an extra drum of energy into criticizing you, then you should be cautious.

Now let’s see why it is the case.

When we are threatened by someone, it stems from our deep-rooted insecurities. We see them as someone superior to us and don’t like our situation here.

We have two choices: either level ourselves up which of course isn’t as easy as it sounds or bring them down to our level by shredding their image, which is quite easy for most people and that’s what they do.

If your coworker is threatened by you, he will definitely attempt to criticize you just for the sake of making himself feel better about it.

4. He Spreads Rumors About You

Yet again another effort to damage your image and potentially your reputation. You may constantly find people who have nothing to do with you telling you things like, “You should be investing extra energy into the project, you don’t want to drag the whole team down with you”.

Who told them about it in the first place? Good chances are someone close to you, like your coworker.

And this is why your coworker does it.

It’s an effort of your coworker to not only damage your reputation but also make you isolated. The people hearing rumors about you will perceive you in a negative light, straining your relationship with them.

Basically, your coworker is threatened by you and is trying to cut off your support network to weaken you.

5. He Low-Key Tries to Copy You

Let’s get real, we all have faced it. Someone would criticize our choice and decision with a lot of conviction but will adopt the things themselves after some time.

It sounds confusing, right? It’s a sign that they secretly think you are capable and therefore adopt your choice, but still want to maintain and pump their image, therefore criticizing you purely for gratification. If this is your coworker’s favorite behavior, good chances are he’s threatened by you.

Let’s have an understanding of it.

Such people deep inside know that you are a better person and more capable than them, but it’s a bitter pill to swallow. To soothe their egos, they will criticize you while still knowing that you are a better decision-maker than them and will adopt your choice when the heat dies down.

6. He Suddenly Wants to Be on Your Good Side

‘If you can’t beat them, join them’. You must have heard about this slogan, right? And if your coworker is threatened by you, he’ll also resort to this tactic after exhausting all other options. Those who don’t want to risk things much will be likely to do this as well.

But how can you differentiate between a person who is genuinely friendly towards you and the one who just got into this to play safe? The answer is the past.

All friendly feelings take time to cultivate naturally and for those who genuinely want to be your friend, there will be a gradual trend from acquaintance to rapport to friendship. On the other hand, the case of a threatened one will be; a nonexistent bond with a little bit of strain then an abrupt friendly feeling towards you.

And this is what psychology has to say about it.

The human mind doesn’t like conflict for too long as it is a threat to our survival. It can only go so much to undermine the person you feel insecure towards.

But if it proves to be a tough nut to crack, the person will either stop the effort altogether and cope or alter the plan and befriend the person they’re threatened with. Since it’s not easy to be threatened by your friend.

What To Do If Your Coworker Is Threatened by You

So far, we could see different subtle signs that could mean your coworker is threatened by you. Now let’s take a look at what you should do if you ever find yourself in such a situation.

1. Hold Your Ground

For most of the signs mentioned above, like criticizing you or deviating from the baseline behavior, the person is actually trying to get under your skin and make you react.

But if you choose not to bat an eye to it and refuse to be distracted, you take away the power from that person. Now that person is just going to embarrass himself with these shallow efforts.

Reacting to them isn’t any beneficial to you either so why do that just for minor gratification?

2. Don’t Stir Them Up

What most people do after finding out someone is having jealous feelings towards them, is to go overboard and make them even more insecure.

Again, this may give you brief satisfaction but has serious consequences. It acts as fuel and makes the insecure person try even harder to bring you down and you also waste your time for necessarily nothing.

Just keep your interactions with the threatened coworker short and to the point. Interact, get the job done, and get going, with no hassle.

3. Focus On Your Priorities

Coming across the drama of insecure people is very distracting and may throw your focus off balance.

You may find yourself sweating over the stuff that’s of no benefit to anyone. Your best bet is to prioritize your work and focus on what matters.

Because the truth is, you’re going to come across such insecure coworkers everywhere you go. Are you going to fight them all? Of course not! So start by setting your priorities.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You’ve finally made it to the end of the article. You now know the subtle but powerful signs your coworker is threatened by you.

You could also understand the psychology behind every point and grasp the concept to its core. It may take time to master these things but the effort is highly worth it.

You then saw brief tips on how to navigate the situation should you find yourself in one so as not to get caught up in the drama and waste your precious time.

Have you ever seen yourself surrounded by any of the above signs? Let us know in the comments below!