Your #Career : 13 Signs your Coworker is Undermining You…Professional Undermining is like a Toxic Gas; its Presence Will Render any Workplace Uninhabitable.

You never argue with this particular colleague, but he or she always manages to put you on the defensive.

If someone’s making you feel like you’re on trial, that’s not a good sign. They might be baiting you and waiting for you to slip up.

Underminers typically don’t stick to just one victim. If you hear that your colleague has burned others in the past, it’s probably best to hold them at arm’s length.

Don’t kid yourself thinking that they’ll make an exception for you.

Everyone partakes in a bit of workplace gossip every once in a while. Sometimes, it’s the only way to figure out what’s really going on at your job.

Still, it’s not a good sign if one of your colleagues seems to constantly have his or her finger on the pulse of every nasty tale circulating around the office.

Basically, if your coworker is a gossip-monger, who’s to say they aren’t talking about you behind your back?

If your colleague is constantly distracting you from your job, they might just be an innocuous and slightly lonely procrastinator.

But if you feel like someone is intentionally attempting to derail your productivity, that’s a problem.

People forget things. It’s a common mistake.

But you should become concerned if a certain person always seems to forget you.

They forgot to invite you to that big project meeting. They forgot to include you on that important email. They forgot to pass on that message from the boss.

You might be dealing with a super absent-minded person. Alternatively, your coworker may be actively trying to keep you in the dark.

The workplace rumor mill is all fun and games until you’re the subject of the latest scoop. Do nasty rumors about you seem to trace back to one person in your office?

If that’s the case, your coworker is definitely trying to sabotage your reputation.

This one’s a major red flag.

If your coworker is stealing credit for your projects and ideas, you should confront him or her (and probably involve a manager). That’s an act of blatant sabotage.

Does your colleague present him or herself as your superior when you’re actually equally ranked? Did they tell your colleagues to report to them instead of you on a project that you’re leading? Has they attempted to poach or misguide your team members in the past?

If a coworker’s attempting to pull rank that he or she doesn’t even have, it’s definitely cause for suspicion.

This one’s a frustratingly subtle move.

Social undermining is difficult to pick up. You don’t want to always assume the worst about people. Sometimes individuals just say or do the wrong thing without any ulterior motives.

Still, if you feel barraged with slightly rude comments, backhanded compliments, and hostile, mocking body language from one particular colleague, look out.

You haven’t done anything wrong — at least, you don’t think you have — but everyone seems to be treating you strangely, from your fellow coworkers to your boss. Can’t figure out what’s up?

It’s possible that your undermining colleague has already gotten to them.

Unlike overt bullying or harassment, undermining can be harder to pinpoint and detect.

The underminer doesn’t use blatantly hostile language or actions to take you down. He or she quietly works to bring you down, which is why it’s important to be extra careful around them.