WE....
1...confuse our boss or supervisor with our alcoholic parents and have similar relationship patterns, behaviors, and reactions that are carryovers from childhood
2... confuse our co-workers with our siblings or our
alcoholic parents and repeat childhood reactions in
those working relationships
3... expect lavish praise and acknowledgment from our
boss for our efforts on the job
4... are afraid of authority figures & feel afraid when we
need to talk to them
5... get a negative gut reaction when dealing with
someone who has the physical characteristics or
mannerisms of our alcoholic parent
6... have felt isolated and different from everyone
around us, but we don’t really know why
7... lose our temper when things upset us rather than
dealing with problems productively
8... busy ourselves with our co-workers’ jobs, often
telling them how to do their work.
9... can get hurt feelings when co-workers do things s
socially together without asking us, even though we
have not made an effort to get to know them and join
in the social life
10... are afraid to make the first move to get to know a
co-worker better, thinking they will not like us or
approve of us
11... usually do not know how to ask for what we want or
need on the job, even for little things
12... do not know how to speak up for ourselves when
someone has said or done something inappropriate
try desperately to avoid face-to-face confrontations
WORK
WE...
13...are sensitive and can get extremely upset
with any form of criticism of our work
14... want to be in charge of every project or activity,
feeling more comfortable when in control of every
detail, rather than letting others be responsible
15...may be the workplace “clown” to cover up our
insecurities or to get attention from others
16... are people-pleasers and may take on extra work,
or our co-worker’s tasks, in order to be liked and
receive approval from others
17...don’t know how to be assertive in getting our
needs met or expressing a concern, & have to
repeatedly rehearse our words before saying them
18..have felt that we do not deserve a raise,
promotion, better workspace, or a better job
19...don’t know how to set boundaries, and we let
others interrupt us. We can accept more work
without knowing how to say ‘no’ appropriately
20... are perfectionists about our own work and expect
others to be the same and have the same work
ethics and values
21...become workaholics because it gives us a feeling of
self-worth we did not get as a child.
22... may jump from job to job, looking for the perfect
position as the substitute for the secure and
nurturing home environment we did not have.
23...get upset when people do things that affect us or
our work without asking us first.
24...have a high tolerance for workplace dysfunction &
tend to stick it out in an unhappy job because we
lack the self-esteem to leave.
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Adult-Children of alcoholics & other narcissists