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Original poster

To be pissed off that someone else has got credit for my work

257 replies

treetops46 · 02/03/2022 12:46

So last week, I cancelled my days off and worked all hours on a presentation that I was leading with my boss today.

I wrote the entire presentation, developed the strategy, designed it - literally everything, because it had to be done so quickly and we are all busy so I just took it on the chin and made it happen.

There is a (wonderful and lovely) more junior team member who proofed the deck and is usually part of this team but was too busy to help last week. This week she is off sick so couldn't attend the presentation either.

We just did the presentation (my boss and me) and it went brilliantly. The clients said numerous times how much they loved the deck and the ideas, I was so happy that all my hard work had paid off.

Then straight after the presentation, boss messages me and more junior girl on our Teams chat saying 'brilliantly presented, TreeTops, and Junior Girl, they loved your deck!'

Now I know because I am quite senior that I should just try to let this go but it's annoyed me so so much!! I can handle not getting much praise for it, but to give credit to someone else entirely just really stings. Ugh.

I feel like I will be being really petty if I mention it, and doubt junior girl will really notice the message amid the mountain of stuff she'll have to catch up on when she gets back so probably won't correct him either. Gahhhhhhhh!!!!!!

OP posts:
Getoff · 02/03/2022 16:07

I think ", and junior girl," could have been a digression, to include her, rather than a change of focus to her.

fairylightsandwaxmelts · 02/03/2022 16:21

You are resentful you had to put in more work last week. It’s not your boss’ fault or the junior’s fault that you allowed them to trample over your boundaries and now feel hard done by.

I think this sums it up, tbh.

Why on earth did you cancel your leave for this?

Yellownightmare · 02/03/2022 16:24

I don't work in the corporate world, but I do notice on these threads that despite it being described as cringy to claim credit even for your own work, those who actually do steal someone's work and represent it as their own are almost always the (male) boss. So it must pay off for some people!

Nanny0gg · 02/03/2022 16:25

What's a 'deck'?

Associatepeggy · 02/03/2022 16:26

Saying the junior was ill and cod really assist would be wrong.

She was in and proof read it. She is ill now so didn't do the presentation.

Pretending she did nothing and was off sick when she did proof read it and wasn't off at that point is just a lie

Anniefrenchfry · 02/03/2022 16:29

I was credited for presenting well, she was credited for developing the actual presentation

Is there something missing, because the only thing you’ve posted where he said well done they loved your deck to both of you certainly doesn’t say this. At all.

I mean this politely but I’ve never seen someone senior behave in this manner, arguing over credit with the office junior. Are you maybe senior to her and not very senior at all? Is that why this is so important to you?

Twitterwhooooo · 02/03/2022 16:29

I agree that it sounds like your resentment is being focused on what you perceive to be wrongly directed praise. Which is understandable, but it might be worth considering how workload had built up to such an extent that you had to cancel your days off and work 50 hours.

If it's not a one off, there's something amiss with workflow arrangements (especially if lovely junior person was 'too busy' to do the part of the job that she usually would) across the whole team or possibly wider.

Either clients being given unrealistic expectations/deadlines or a mismatch between work that needs doing and person hours to do it.

That might be the basis of a constructive conversation to have with your boss, rather than letting your resentment about this particular situation stop you seeing the bigger picture.

Well done on smashing it though!

affairsofdragons · 02/03/2022 16:32

I would correct the 'mistake'/'impression' your boss has of who did what. Politely, of course, but I would correct it.

Men don't seem to get angsty over these things; they take credit where it's due (and often that where women did the work!) Women need to learn to stand up for themselves. Raises and promotions go hand in hand with stuff like this!

Thisisit2022 · 02/03/2022 16:33

Flipping this on it's head...there have been times over my decades of working where I've been wrongly praised and I have ALWAYS corrected the error and directed to the right person. 'To me, THAT is teamwork.

Associatepeggy · 02/03/2022 16:34

Why would you end up cancelling leave, without your boss knowing, to work on a presentation for him and you?

Who asked you to do it? Did you decide off your own back to cancel?

gingerhills · 02/03/2022 16:34

I think you sound like a poor team player. I have led a team where the vast majority of the creative input and its realisation was mine. But I always gave hefty praise to everyone else on board the project too, even if they 'just' proofed something. All input adds up. And it creates a strong team bond.

Associatepeggy · 02/03/2022 16:37

@Thisisit2022

Flipping this on it's head...there have been times over my decades of working where I've been wrongly praised and I have ALWAYS corrected the error and directed to the right person. 'To me, THAT is teamwork.
Its great you felt confident to do that. This junior may not. Op, who is senior, doesn't know how to deal with it.

The email could be read 2 ways. So junior might be unsure.

And she is off this week. By the time she is back, the window for sorting it has passed.

Dindundundundeeer · 02/03/2022 16:40

Bloody why the ‘ooh no don’t look desperate, you seem bitter nonsense’.

TOTALLY correct the impression that may or may not be wrong. I can tell you almost every man I’ve ever worked with would certainly take what is rightly theirs, the credit! This is partly why men earn more.

Cut the shy retiring crap.

Dindundundundeeer · 02/03/2022 16:41

YOU gave the praise, very different to OP’s case.

Dindundundundeeer · 02/03/2022 16:42

Sorry that meant to quote ginger hills

Anniefrenchfry · 02/03/2022 16:42

@affairsofdragons

I would correct the 'mistake'/'impression' your boss has of who did what. Politely, of course, but I would correct it.

Men don't seem to get angsty over these things; they take credit where it's due (and often that where women did the work!) Women need to learn to stand up for themselves. Raises and promotions go hand in hand with stuff like this!

No they don’t. Being petty enough to say a junior doesn’t deserve credit doesn’t get any one promoted or a raise.

I’d respond and say something like thanks and I’m glad it went well, the deck was a rush but we got there.

And leave it there, I’m sure he knows. And you look like the bigger person. Saying oh it wasn’t her it was all me me me, makes you look bad.

Sarahcoggles · 02/03/2022 16:47

This would annoy me.
I'd reply "thank you - it went well didn't it - I'm really glad I cancelled my leave and spent so long writing it".

JenniferBarkley · 02/03/2022 16:48

Unless something tangible will come out of this like a bonus or promotion, I'd leave it. It looks very mean-spirited to look for praise at the expense of a junior colleague.

Your boss did a nice thing, he was happy with how it went and took the time to email the team and try to demonstrate that he appreciates each of your individual contributions.

You've said junior colleague is good and works hard. She's probably done excellent work unnoticed countless times, let her have this one. Boss probably dashed the email off in a spare moment and has already forgotten about it.

bluedodecagon · 02/03/2022 16:48

The first thing is: most of the people objecting to the word “deck” are also the same people insisting that you email cringy/weird emails to your manager trying to take credit. Don't listen to them There is a strand of Mumsnet that is very anticorporate and gets very upset about corporate culture and professional environments. They pride themselves on never using terms like “reach out” or doing icebreakers or participating in corporate norms. I know people like this in real life and usually they are specialists who are disliked but are tolerated because they do good work. Please please please do not take their advice.

Secondly, I agree with a prior poster that, based on your further comments, this doesn’t make any sense. If you are doing the junior persons work for them, then why would you want credit for it? Why would your manager be impressed that you stepped in to support your junior member of staff? That’s your job. In fact, it actually looks bad that you had to do the work because it suggests that the project wasn’t properly resourced or managed in the first place. I would consider it to be quite poor management that you would have expected your junior member of staff to pull a 50 hour week to finish a project (because presumably if she hadn’t been sick, she would’ve had to do it herself) unless 50 hour weeks are common for your workplace and industry in which case who cares that you have to work 50 hours?

Either way you look like a whiner.

Thisisit2022 · 02/03/2022 16:49

@Associatepeggy Its great you felt confident to do that. This junior may not. Op, who is senior, doesn't know how to deal with it. The email could be read 2 ways. So junior might be unsure. And she is off this week. By the time she is back, the window for sorting it has passed.

Honestly, even when I was younger. I had a boss who always passed my work off as her own but the MD was her decades old best friend so I just sucked it up. Now I work for someone who I create all kinds of bids and presentations for and she always credits me - even though the people she is presenting to have no idea who I am and don't care!

SoupDragon · 02/03/2022 16:52

I totally read it that he's congratulated the OP for the presenting and the Junior for making the slides. I think it's grasping at straws to try and make it that he's congratulating them both, it just doesn't read like that.

SevenWaystoLeave · 02/03/2022 16:55

@JenniferBarkley

Unless something tangible will come out of this like a bonus or promotion, I'd leave it. It looks very mean-spirited to look for praise at the expense of a junior colleague.

Your boss did a nice thing, he was happy with how it went and took the time to email the team and try to demonstrate that he appreciates each of your individual contributions.

You've said junior colleague is good and works hard. She's probably done excellent work unnoticed countless times, let her have this one. Boss probably dashed the email off in a spare moment and has already forgotten about it.

This. OP has already made a great impression with a successful presentation, one that people will always associate with her first and foremost since she presented it. Why on earth risk turning a win into a lose by objecting to your boss including a junior staff member - who did contribute, even if it was only proofreading - in his praise? It really does seem petty and could easily undo the positive work already done.
Oblomov22 · 02/03/2022 16:56

I can't understand all the posts to say it would be cringe, I too would be very hacked off and would correct him, saying it was your deck, and thank her for proofreading (ie only).

PuppyMonkey · 02/03/2022 16:58

Just reply: “Whatever.”

Grin
Gnomechange · 02/03/2022 16:58

I can see why it annoys you, but you will look very very petty if you correct this at all. He was probably just being nice and know you did it.

Sounds like you did a good presentation, just take that compliment.