The Office-Politics Advisers:
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A
co-worker took credit for a project I
have been working on April 2005, Article 5 Dear Office-Politics, A
co-worker from another department took credit for a project I have
been working on and passed it off as his own. When I spoke with upper
management I was told to tread lightly on this one, although it is
not right it is better for me to work closely with the others rather
than putting my foot down and taking claim as the others would be
sure to make it a failure. I feel to allow this is saying, 'yes steal
my work'. If the company is allowing this type of behaviour. Is there
something else I should do? Sincerely,
Dear Ripped-Off, Two
issues arise in this situation. First is the general question
as to who should get ‘credit’ for projects done in the
workplace. It sounds as if there is no clear policy in your
firm and because of this it is possible for the credit to be assumed
by someone who did not do the work. To address this I suggest
that you approach senior management and ask if there is such a policy
and if so, how is it enforced. Such a policy might involve
more regular reporting of your workplace activities, closer coordination
with your superior or some other method of allowing management to
know who is doing what, so that when the project is finished there
is no question about who did it. If
there is currently no policy you might ask management to implement
one, and explain to them the difficulty you encountered in this situation. Part
of good management is to ensure that employees are recognized for
their contributions to the firm and to encourage them to make the
extra effort to do their best work by recognizing and rewarding such
effort. If, however, management does not see the value of clarifying
the policy around recognizing who has done what work, you may then
want to consider trying to find another firm to work with where your
efforts will be recognized. The
second issue that arises in this case is contained in your comment
that you were told to ‘tread lightly on this one.’ It
is unclear why you were told this, but I would be concerned if management
is refusing to intervene in a situation where your concern is recognized
as legitimate, but there are improper motives underlying their non-action. If
management is concerned that recognizing your work would result in
other employees sabotaging the project, then there is a serious moral
problem and an issue of workplace authority as well. While
that is more management’s concern than yours I wonder if you
are really wise to continue to work in such an environment. Poorly
managed firms don’t do well in the long run and they are certainly
stressful places to work in.
Dr. John Burton LL.B. M.B.A. M.Div. Ph.D. is an ethicist, mediator, lawyer and theologian whose passion is helping people and organizations create better relationships and stronger communities by being clear, committed and collaborative in their approach to ethics and conflict. John is currently located in Prince Rupert, B.C., Canada, working with Canada's aboriginal communities.
The Ethics Letters that appears as a feature of this Website is an educational and discussion oriented column designed to help the reader better understand ethical issues. The matters discussed in the letter are reviewed in a summary/abbreviated way and are only meant to foster thinking on the part of the reader. If a person decides to adopt or implement suggestions, they do so at their own risk. No representation or warranty is provided in relation to suggestions or the contents of the letter. Neither the authors of the letter, Franke James, John W. Burton, or the owners of this Website accept any liability whatsoever for any opinions expressed in the letter or for errors and omissions. Submission of letters to the Office-Politics Forum grants the Publisher, Nerdheaven Ltd. the right to reproduce, republish, repurpose and excerpt the submission in any and all other media, without compensation or contacting the author. Copyright Nerdheaven Ltd. 2002-2005
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