Why Some People Lie, Manipulate and Backst*b Their Way to a Promotion

Workplace competition can bring out the best in employees—but it can also bring out some of the worst. In highly competitive environments, some workers resort to lying, spreading rumors, taking credit for other people’s work, or deliberately undermining colleagues they see as competition for a promotion.

This behavior isn’t simply about having a bad attitude. It can be influenced by human psychology, personality traits, workplace culture, and poor management.

The “If You Win, I Lose” Mentality

One explanation comes from evolutionary psychology. Throughout human history, people have competed for limited resources, social status, and opportunities. In a modern workplace, that instinct can translate into a zero-sum mentality: if there is only one management position available, one employee may see a colleague’s success as a direct threat to their own.

Instead of improving their own performance, a highly competitive employee may attempt to eliminate the competition through gossip, deception, or sabotage.

When Manipulation Becomes a Career Strategy

Psychologists have also examined the role of the Dark Triad—Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy—in workplace behavior.

Machiavellian individuals tend to be calculated and manipulative. Narcissistic individuals may believe they are entitled to power, recognition, or special treatment. Psychopathic traits can involve reduced empathy and a willingness to hurt others without feeling significant guilt.

Not everyone who displays these traits will behave unethically, but research suggests that some individuals with these characteristics can be particularly effective at navigating office politics.

The problem becomes even greater when manipulation is paired with strong political skill. Someone can be difficult, dishonest, or toxic behind the scenes while appearing charismatic, confident, and highly competent to executives. They may know exactly who to impress, how to build influential relationships, and when to present themselves as the person responsible for a team’s success.

Corporate Culture Can Reward the Wrong Behavior

Workplace culture can also create an environment where backstabbing becomes advantageous.

When organizations heavily emphasize individual rankings, competition, sales numbers, or personal accomplishments while giving less attention to teamwork, employees may begin viewing coworkers as rivals rather than teammates.

If employees believe there is only one path to advancement, they may become more focused on making themselves look better than the person next to them.

That can create an unhealthy cycle: employees compete for recognition, coworkers become suspicious of one another, and some people discover that political maneuvering can produce faster results than simply doing good work.

Backstabbing Requires an Audience That Believes It

Ultimately, workplace sabotage is much harder to accomplish when managers carefully evaluate evidence and understand how their teams actually operate.

Poor leadership can unintentionally give manipulators an opening. A manager may hear a rumor about an employee, see evidence of one mistake, and then begin interpreting everything that employee does through that negative perception.

This is known as confirmation bias—the tendency to give greater weight to information that reinforces an existing belief while overlooking information that contradicts it.

A manipulative employee can take advantage of this by repeatedly highlighting a colleague’s mistakes while quietly minimizing their own.

The Real Problem May Be the System

Workplace backstabbing isn’t always just a personality problem. Sometimes it is a symptom of an organizational system that rewards the wrong behaviors.

If employees learn that honesty, collaboration, and consistent performance receive less recognition than self-promotion and political maneuvering, the organization can inadvertently encourage people to play the game rather than do the job.

That is why effective leadership matters. Managers who verify information, recognize team contributions, investigate conflicts objectively, and reward performance based on evidence make it much harder for manipulation to become a successful career strategy.

A workplace doesn’t have to eliminate competition—but it should make integrity more profitable than sabotage.