Reciprocal Relationships between Narcissism and Agentic versus Communal Work Activities across the First Six Years of the Career

The vast majority of studies on trait narcissism have adopted a static unidirectional approach, documenting the mainly detrimental effects of this trait on a variety of work outcomes. The current study contributes to this literature by adopting a novel bidirectional perspective, investigating how trait narcissism shapes and is shaped by our experiences at work. Specifically, this study examines how trait narcissism develops during the first six years after the transition from college to work, and how agentic versus communal work demands may either enhance or diminish the development of this trait. Reciprocal relationships between narcissism and subjective and objective work activities are examined in a sample of 1,513 college alumni who were assessed four times across a time period of six years. Both selection (i.e., narcissism shapes work activities) and socialization effects (i.e., narcissism is shaped by work activities) were examined using bivariate latent change score models. Results showed that trait narcissism prior to the college-to-work transition positively predicted the selection of agentic work activities at the beginning of the career, but not future changes in these activities. Importantly, the results regarding socialization effects indicated that engagement in communal activities, particularly those that require relating with others at work (e.g., to help them), diminished trait narcissism over time.