My boss is taking credit for my work.

Anonymous

February 26,2024 at 12:43PM UTC

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My boss is taking credit for my work. I was out sick one day, and she presented one of my projects as her own and barely mentioned my name. She also credited people who didn't even work on the project for their "contributions." At first, I thought it was a simple mistake, and when I discussed it with her calmly, she became annoyed and played it off as a 'team' project, which it was my team, not including her. She had nothing to do with the project. Then I accidentally discovered a newly hired coworker who manages a team half the size of mine, with a much smaller workload, is earning more. I saw the job post. When I brought it up to my boss, she said it is what it is. I feel awful having a boss who does not advocate for me, but I am there to support her 10000%. I have bi-weekly meetings with her boss, the CEO. Should I say something?

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AnonymousFebruary 26,2024 at 1:24PM UTC
Sometimes you do have to advocate for yourself when your boss won't. several years ago, I was in a situation where my direct manager was not giving me credit for what I was doing, but rather taking credit for my work. I finally got fed up enough, went to her boss (our department SVP) and brought this to her attention. This did bring about gradual change. This was the beginning of me realizing if I didn't stand up for myself no one else would. Didn't always work out in my favor, but better than saying nothing.
AnonymousFebruary 26,2024 at 1:52PM UTC
I've had to escalate things when I had an ineffective boss. It feels icky, but it is what it is. Made me much more thankful for the great boss I have now, for sure.
AnonymousFebruary 26,2024 at 2:19PM UTC
hmmm. this is a sticky situation. Your boss knows, now, that you're onto her. And you're onto other things like unequal pay for similar work. You've raised her feathers. You gave her knowledge of your awareness. My advice is to step back and monitor this. She's struggling with confidence issues and was sneaky about taking credit for your work when you were out sick...that tells you right there that she's a weak leader. You know it. She knows it. But she's got the power to ruin you at work, friend. I had a boss like this in a former job. She was a complete idiot and did not know the line she was managing at all-- She knew it and she knew that "I" knew it. She ended up sending me to HR for a discussion on how to "manage her up"...OMG. I told her that i don't need to "manage up" someone who is dishonest. OMG. (needless to say, I got a written notice that my job was going to be terminated- so I left)--- there isn't always a happy ending to these situations. In hindsight, even tho I was right, I was the loser...and you will be too . Don't talk wo the CEO about this...that's even worse! Just monitor the situation closely....you'll know over time what to do...but be quiet for now.
AnonymousFebruary 26,2024 at 2:44PM UTC
HECK YES YOU SHOULD
AnonymousFebruary 26,2024 at 2:53PM UTC
I wouldn't go in blaming her but I would mention the lack of support and acknowledgement for your contribution. Present your issues from a personal perspective.
AnonymousFebruary 26,2024 at 4:04PM UTC
First, since you work for her, everything you do is a reflection of her, so stating that she had nothing to do with the project can only be true if the CEO gave it to you without consulting her (which would have been shady of them), or it was a project you took on yourself without consulting her (which is on you).
I'm not sure why you are regularly meeting 1:1 with the CEO, because unless she is present (or you have a "dotted-line" direct report to CEO for certain projects), then this is a bit dysfunctional, unless it is a temporary reporting structure. Is your boss aware that this meeting is happening? This could be the issue, as she considers you a threat, so it might smooth things over if you were to invite her in. As for the pay discrepancy, have you discussed this with the CEO?
AnonymousFebruary 27,2024 at 5:42AM UTC
Depends on the size of your company. If it's a larger org, the CEO will likely be indifferent to 'internal squabbles' at best, and annoyed at worst. If you're in a smaller org where the CEO is super hands on, then it might be worth it to bring up.
You can also just casually mention that you (and your teammates) were glad to work on the project you led. Explain how you enjoyed doing certain tasks/leading certain aspects of the project and ask the CEO for any feedback to make it better. That way you credit yourself in a way that doesn't trash your boss in front of the CEO. Maybe you can start using these projects as leverage to get a pay upgrade.
As for the stolen work-- if you have work logs of the edits or versions of the project with time stamps, that could work in your favor. If this becomes a pattern vs a one off thing, get everything in writing and bring it up to HR.
Maggie StoneFebruary 27,2024 at 1:53PM UTC
You feel undervalued and underappreciated and that your concerns were dismissed, which is totally understandable. You did what I would have recommended which is speak to your boss directly. Keep in mind that anything you produce for the company is their intellectual property. I think whether or not you take this up with the CEO depends on your relationship with the CEO. Does this person feel like an advocate for you or are they more aligned with your boss? Does this person keep their word? Unfortunately, I am guessing that as others have said, the boss probably wants to stay out of "internal squabbles."
AnonymousFebruary 27,2024 at 5:54PM UTC
Absolutely, how to do it though must be diplomatic. Here is how, gather up all the process flows and the documentation that you have of the pre-work that you and your team did. Be sure to give kudos to all the co-collaborators. Put it together in a very short, less than 10 minute presentation to the CEO and at the end let him know that you were made aware of others taking credit for the work that you did with barely a mention of your participation. Let him know that you are motivated and committed to the company but want fairness to reign true with how you are treated against others and to know that your actual work is something you are getting credit for. Separate the conversation around compensation because if you put those 2 together then it will only be about money and not getting credit. Then ask for how you can meet with him again to discuss other motivators and share that you need a deeper understanding of reward systems within the team and company and that you are not getting clarity from your manager. Then having separated out the conversations he can address the stolen work situation with her. Then in a different conversation re compensation with you, he can follow up with HR and your manager to re-review your comp against others now that he knows your high participation. Good luck, keep it unemotional and not finger pointing because if you do and you have a good rapport with the CEO you will lose that reference if he takes offense to your tone. He will likely not undermine her but will have to manage the fallout from your newly unearthed information.
AnonymousFebruary 28,2024 at 1:35PM UTC
I am sad to hear that this has happened to you. Work performed in a work environment becomes the property of that business entity and use of the work will vary. This sucks!! What I found to be comforting is that the manager who did this to me could never duplicate or originate the work-only imitate.