Imagine you revisit a discussion from last week with your superior, but you’re told, “That never happened.” Such a response sows doubt, making you second-guess whether or not you recalled correctly. What’s unsettling, though, is this could be gaslighting at work.

Originating from the 1938 play Gas Light, this term is now firmly rooted in today’s conversations. Although typically tied to personal relationships, this manipulation tactic subtly manifests in toxic professional environments, while being just as damaging.

Gaslighting causes employees to doubt their judgment, memory, even their sanity. Left unchecked, it takes a mental and emotional toll that ultimately erodes morale, well-being, and productivity.

Due to its covert nature, addressing the issue may be challenging. However, recognizing its signs and understanding its effects is key to proactive prevention and resolution. To help you achieve this, we’ll dive into the complexities of gaslighting in the workplace.

What is gaslighting?

This form of psychological manipulation involves making someone question their memory or perception of certain situations, causing them to distrust the validity of their perspective.

According to Indeed, gaslighting occurs when an individual or group deliberately discredits their victim’s experience. For instance, a manager or colleague may tell you, “Are you sure that’s what happened? You’re probably mistaken,” when you raise an issue.

Common characteristics of gaslighting at work

In professional settings, gaslighting typically possesses these attributes:

  • It’s covert: Cunning behaviors make it hard to detect. Perpetrators rely on indirect tactics and plausible deniability, making victims less likely to report them.
  • It’s exacerbated by power dynamics: Leaders or senior coworkers, particularly those in a position to control information, can shift blame by influencing individual accounts.
  • It undermines psychological safety: Long-term exposure to gaslighting damages employee confidence, as they become skeptical of their judgment and abilities, as well as colleagues.

Gaslighting vs. miscommunication

You must, however, be able to differentiate between gaslighting and miscommunication. Everyone can occasionally forget things or misunderstand situations.

Gaslighting is characterized by pattern and intent: a consistent manipulation of others to exert power, suppress dissent, control a narrative, and avoid accountability. This purposefully undermines employees’ perspectives and personal well-being.

What’s more alarming, however, is how HealthCentral’s study found 58% of people between the ages of 18 and 54 experiencing gaslighting at work!

Common signs of gaslighting at work

Psychological manipulation is difficult to spot, as it hides behind day-to-day humor, ambiguity, even professionalism. Recognizing its patterns, however, allows you to shut down its occurrence. Here are gaslighting’s usual indicators:

Constant denial

A prevalent behavior among gaslighters is their consistent rebuttal of events, commitments, and conversations—even when their victim recalls details clearly. Let’s say you bring up last week’s feedback from your superior, but they claim, “I never said that,” despite your copies of emails.

Employees must endure such embarrassment, having their memory or integrity questioned after raising concerns to those who would rather evade accountability. CultureMonkey even calls this conduct a red flag, especially when accompanied by dismissive language or subtle ridicule.

Inconsistent application of rules

Gaslighters may enforce company policies selectively, excusing specific employees’ behaviors while penalizing others for doing the same. For instance, you can get reprimanded for arriving five minutes late, but your coworker who regularly does this gets overlooked.

Indeed, meanwhile, notes that this double standard reinforces toxic power dynamics, which ultimately erodes trust in leadership.

Blame-shifting

Deflection is another tactic manipulators use to elude responsibility. Rather than owning up to their mistakes, they blame others in an effort to silence critics and whistleblowers.

Let’s say you confront a colleague for making inappropriate jokes, but end up hearing, “You’re overreacting. I was just kidding.” This frames the victim as the problem, causing them to doubt their emotional reaction and shy away from speaking up in the future.

Professional exclusion

Being consistently barred from projects, meetings, decision-making, and even social gatherings is another form of workplace gaslighting.

Imagine being left out of critical emails or discussions you were originally part of—without explanation. Over time, this pushes victims to question their role and value within teams, as well as their competence. Ultimately, they’ll socially, mentally, and emotionally withdraw.

Undermining work and abilities

Manipulation can also manifest through subtle sabotage, diminishing an employee’s success and contributions.

Think of how a manager or colleague, in front of others, suggests your outstanding performance was due to luck. They may even “forget” to credit you for your work or tell you how, “It’s not quite what we need,” despite fitting set criteria.

Such actions chip away at confidence and lead to imposter syndrome. Meditopia even says it’s especially damaging to team performance!

Twisting narratives

Gaslighters may reframe past events to suit their interests, aiming to create confusion around actual accounts.

Picture a colleague suddenly attributing their poor decision to your recommendation, even though you weren’t involved at all. While you act as the scapegoat, they appear blameless.

This destroys trust and discourages input and collaboration, as those who work with the manipulator will fear being misrepresented.

Excessive micromanagement

Gaslighters may disguise this as support, but it’s a strategy to exercise control. When paired with distrust or condescension, it clearly reflects manipulation.

Let’s say a superior constantly checks your work, redoes them without consulting you, then frames it as, “I’m just helping you avoid mistakes.”

These behaviors suggest incompetence where there is none, eroding the employee’s confidence. Choosing Therapy even states this is done to manipulate employees, making them feel incapable and perpetually dependent.

Withholding important information

This ties into professional exclusion, where gaslighters deliberately omit details you need to properly do your job. They criticize you afterwards, with the aim of asserting their power.

For example, you’re assigned to lead a presentation but aren’t informed of a key change until the last minute. You’re then chastised for lack of preparation.

Such situations are designed to make employees feel helpless, allowing the manipulator to maintain dominance while breaking the victim’s sense of competence and autonomy.

Why gaslighting harms the workplace

While it initially seems like a minor conflict or communication issue, gaslighting’s long-term effects aren’t trivial. They erode the foundations of a healthy organization. To give you a better grasp, we’ll tackle them next.

It breeds a toxic work culture

Gaslighting becomes a threat, especially when interpersonal issues compound. Leaving manipulative behaviors unchecked sets a grim precedent: psychological safety is optional.

With mistreatment being tolerated, or normalized at worst, employees will “play it safe” and disengage, withholding ideas and feedback—a loss for environments that lean on innovation and collaboration.

Exude Human Capital, in fact, emphasizes how this leads to a “culture of silence” where trust deteriorates and fear dominates decision-making.

It undermines employee performance

We mentioned how gaslighting causes employees to doubt their memory, capability, and emotional responses. This results in a cognitive overload that, according to Meditopia, takes a toll on concentration and efficiency.

That’s because, rather than focusing on tasks, victims spend time second-guessing past conversations, managing their anxiety, or emotionally recovering from toxic interactions.

It damages engagement and retention

Constant exposure to manipulation results in psychological insecurity, as victims consider their workplace unsafe. Employees start to resent the workplace since their well-being takes a hit.

Meditopia reports how this even contributes to burnout and absenteeism, even turnover at worst. Not to mention, replacing lost employees also has associated costs—think of recruitment expenses and productivity dips.

It heightens legal and reputational risk

Gaslighting isn’t illegal, but it can cross into grounds for formal complaints or litigation, particularly if it intersects with cases of harassment, discrimination, or retaliation.

Additionally, in today’s values-driven job market, word of toxic work environments may spread on platforms like Glassdoor, damaging your employer brand and ability to attract top talent.

It breaks trust in leadership

Trust is the foundation of relationships and effective leadership. Gaslighting from superiors destroys this, as employees question their leaders’ integrity and the organization’s fairness.

CultureMonkey, for instance, points out that workers emotionally disconnect from superiors once trust is lost. Teams may start doubting grievance procedures, performance reviews, even promotion decisions, since favoritism and manipulation influence outcomes.

It stifles growth and innovation

Google’s Project Aristotle found psychological safety to be the top predictor of high-performing teams. Gaslighting, however, compromises this critical workplace element.

A manipulative culture forces silence and compliance—characteristics that are detrimental to experimentation and creative problem solving. This leaves you at a glaring disadvantage as well, especially in ever-changing industries.

The impacts of gaslighting on employee mental health

Beyond being a behavioral issue, gaslighting is a mental health hazard. Repeated exposure breeds environments where employees are constantly on edge, mainly due to these effects:

Chronic stress and anxiety

Routinely questioning your memory or judgment can lock you in a state of constant hypervigilance that strains you mentally.

The resulting anxiety, meanwhile, makes you overanalyze interactions like conversations or emails just to avoid the risk of further manipulation. Over time, you may start feeling fight-or-flight responses even in trivial situations.

Decline in confidence and self-esteem

Repeatedly hearing that you’re misremembering things, not competent enough, or being too emotional can cause you to internalize these narratives. This slowly chips away your self-worth and even makes you feel like a fraud.

Little by little, you may shy away from high-profile tasks, projects, or leadership roles due to the dread of criticism.

Withdrawal from social and team interactions

Isolation can become a defense mechanism, especially when trust breaks down. To avoid further mental and emotional anguish, employees may distance themselves from colleagues.

As a result, optional meetings are skipped, collaboration is avoided, and team-building activities are shunned. This behavior, however, damages communication and team cohesion.

Increased risk of depression

We briefly touched on how regular exposure to manipulation contributes to burnout. Left unresolved, the prolonged physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion can fuel depression as well.

This leaves your employees numb, uninterested, and demotivated at work, as gaslighting continues to fuel workplace issues.

Long-term harm and trauma

In extreme cases, gaslighting can leave psychological trauma, especially when it occurs through sustained emotional abuse. Victims may display symptoms similar to those seen in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), such as:

They may carry these scars into future roles as well, remaining fearful of authority figures or hesitant to assert themselves—even in healthy environments.

How to deal with gaslighting at work

Gaslighting often goes unchallenged due to fear, confusion, or lack of evidence. But once you recognize the behavior, you can take these proactive steps to protect yourself and your employees:

Document every incident

Concrete proof of gaslighting is your most powerful tool, as it cements credibility before you escalate the issue. So, keep a detailed, factual record of every questionable interaction. Include or consider these elements when privately logging evidence as well:

  • Dates
  • Times
  • Quotes
  • Copies of emails or screenshots of messages
  • Witnesses

This also helps you mentally, as solid evidence keeps you grounded in reality and protects you from the pitfalls of self-doubt. Written communication is also your best defense when dealing with people who deny conversations or alter facts.

Seek support from allies

Gaslighters isolate their targets by making them think that no one will believe them. Having a network of trusted colleagues, mentors, or supervisors helps counter this, as allies can validate your experience and provide meaningful support.

This prevents you from internalizing blame, since simply hearing, “I’ve seen what you’re talking about,” is enough to help you regain confidence and figure out your next step.

Set and enforce clear boundaries

While not all manipulative behaviors can be stopped by boundaries, some can be disrupted by calmly and firmly asserting limits. To immediately address gaslighting, plainly communicate your expectations through neutral and professional language.

Reinforce them through writing if needed. This can prevent matters from escalating, but if the gaslighter continues, reiterate your stance and remove yourself from the interaction.

Report to human resources (HR)

If solid proof and boundaries don’t discourage gaslighters, swiftly escalate the issue to HR. Share your documentation and objectively outline your concerns.

Don’t just hone in on your personal discomfort. Highlight how manipulative behaviors affect your performance, as well as your team’s. Encourage HR to dive into the patterns rather than treat occurrences as one-time misunderstandings.

Protect your mental health

Gaslighting’s psychological strain can be immense, so prioritize mental wellness—no matter how the situation unfolds. Practice stress management techniques that not only promote clarity and peace, but also resilience and recovery. Think of activities like:

  • Mindful breathing and eating
  • Journaling
  • Yoga
  • Meditation

Do things you enjoy as well, whether it be a leisurely walk or spending time in nature.

Know when it’s time to leave

In the worst cases, your healthiest option may be departure, especially when leadership fails to act on toxic behaviors or if the gaslighting turns out to be systemic. Leaving, however, isn’t a failure; it’s your way of setting a hard boundary.

A strategic exit allows you to reclaim your well-being, as well as find an environment that values integrity and psychological safety.

What organizations can do

Protecting your organization from gaslighting isn’t just a matter of ethics, but also strategy. From compromising trust, to culture, to productivity, it goes beyond just hurting employees. To properly resolve this grave issue, here’s what you can do:

Establish anti-gaslighting policies

Gaslighting often occurs informally, making them difficult to prove. You can, however, take a clear stance by tackling blame-shifting, manipulation, and psychological abuse in your workplace policies. For instance:

  • Include explicit definitions and examples of gaslighting in your employee handbooks.
  • State clear disciplinary consequences for instances of psychological manipulation or attempts to undermine workers.
  • For consistent standards, tie them into broad anti-harassment and anti-bullying policies.

By communicating your intolerance, you promote respectful behaviors and psychological safety.

Establish confidential reporting channels

Gaslighting thrives in silence, so compel HR to create safe, anonymous, and accessible systems that let employees feel secure enough to speak up.

Through dedicated reporting avenues—like a specific hotline, email address, or messaging channel—you improve transparency and minimize the risk of retaliation.

Confidential assessments and surveys can also uncover broader cultural issues tied to gaslighting before they escalate.

Create a culture of feedback

Employees should be able to raise concerns and questions, as well as challenge decisions without dreading dismissal or ridicule. To regularly collect their honest input:

  • Encourage team or individual check-ins that focus on emotional climate, not just tasks.
  • Hold open forums that allow personnel to directly communicate with leadership.
  • Reward honesty and vulnerability, even when the truth is hard to hear.

Intervene early, ensure accountability

When incidences of gaslighting are observed and reported, you must act quickly and fairly. Delayed or biased responses exacerbate the problem, so:

  1. Conduct investigations that deeply explore the victim’s experience and the perpetrator’s intentions.
  2. Once gaslighting is confirmed, immediately implement disciplinary actions that match the severity of the offense.
  3. Communicate the outcomes of your examinations, wherever possible of course, as this signals your stance against manipulation.

Equip employees against gaslighting

Invest in professional development programs that educate employees about respectful communication, healthy conflict resolution, and emotional manipulation. This is essential for leaders as well, since they reinforce your organization’s culture.

Emotional intelligence (EI)

Emovation’s EI programs, for instance, instill empathy, social skills, self-awareness, and self-regulation—capabilities essential to emotionally intelligent leadership.

By mastering these, leaders can effectively resolve instances of gaslighting and stop themselves from mirroring manipulative behaviors.

Psychological safety

On the other hand, ElevateMinds’ Psychological Safety Program promotes mentally healthy workplaces. It’s designed to nurture cultures that thrive on:

  • Open communication
  • Collaboration
  • Creative problem-solving

By prioritizing these key elements, teams can freely express themselves without fear of reprisal—a key to building trust, strong relationships, and accountability.

Provide mental health support

Healing from gaslighting takes time, especially after repeated exposure. Mental wellness programs, however, can smoothen the process and support employee recovery. ElevateMinds also offers these, designing each initiative to nurture the entire individual.

Our comprehensive approach provides end-to-end support, from initial mental health assessments to consultations with licensed professionals.

Final thoughts: Eliminate gaslighting to establish psychological safety

Gaslighting isn’t loud or obvious, but it’s always damaging. Employees deserve to feel heard, valued, and respected, so recognizing the signs of manipulation early, then taking proactive steps to prevent it supports a culture of honesty, transparency, and accountability.

By educating your people and investing in support systems like our Psychological Safety Program, you shut gaslighting down and preserve workplace well-being. So, if you want to learn more about it, get in touch! We’ll gladly show you how it works.