The COVID-19 pandemic has placed a fresh emphasis on workers who society truly relies on in times of crisis.  This stretches beyond the healthcare workers who are obviously crucial in a pandemic to include grocery store employees, delivery drivers, and refuse workers, all of whom have helped society retain a semblance of normality during 2020.

Most of these people are thoroughly deserving of their status as the unsung heroes of COVID, but new research from Ohio State University reveals that narcissists crave such status, even if it’s not particularly warranted.

The study revealed that people who scored highly on measures of narcissism tended to tell many more people about their work in professions regarded as “heroic” during the pandemic in a bid to capture that adulation.

“The word ‘hero’ is a trigger for narcissists,” the researchers say.  “Having their work elevated to hero status provides them with an opportunity to shine in front of others and feel even better about themselves.”

Attention seeking

The researchers conducted a couple of experiments involving people regarded as “essential workers” during the pandemic.  Each participant completed measures of narcissism before reporting how often they shared their work with others.

The results suggest that people who score highly on two very specific forms of narcissism, called agentic and communal, were far more likely to boast about their key status on social media.

Communal narcissists are people who generally think that they’re superior to others in terms of helping people.  Their work forms a big part of their identity as they wish to be known for their good deeds.  Agentic narcissists are those who are perhaps more commonly thought of as narcissists as they love the chance to show off.

It’s perhaps easy to see why communal narcissists would revel in their heightened status during COVID as they believe themselves to be the best at caring for others and being helpful, so the pandemic gave them the chance to showcase this quality.  Agentic narcissists are generally less keen to share the limelight, but they will also have thrived from the attention they gained from being regarded as a “hero”.

“That’s why they likely shared about their work. Their ‘hero’ status gave them a way to feel admired and distinct from others,” the researchers say.

Basking in the limelight

Those who scored highly for narcissism obviously felt even more highly of themselves after they had shared their key worker status on social media.  Such people were extremely likely to agree with statements like “Right now, I greatly enrich others’ lives” and “Right now, I feel like I am a special person.”

Interestingly, however, vulnerable narcissists did not conform to this trend.  Such people don’t tend to feel very good about themselves but are nonetheless self-absorbed and feel like they’re not getting the attention they warrant.  Such people are likely to think they’ve got plenty on their plate already without worrying about others.

“Perhaps being an essential worker made vulnerable narcissists feel more exposed to others’ judgments or anxious about their own well-being,” the researchers explain.

In general, however, the results suggest that those with narcissistic personalities are using the pandemic to bolster their image and to feel even more self-important than they already did.