Has your colleague ever called you by his name or not mentioned your role in a group work? In such a situation, you may have experienced anger and discomfort, reacted inappropriately, and created tension. You have a right to be upset or angry about such an issue, but that is not a reason to fight with your colleague. In this article, we want to tell you the methods and tips so you can calmly defend your rights when faced with such an issue. So be sure to stay with us until the end of this article.
What should we do if the collaboration writes our work in its name?
1. be cool
It must be sad to see that someone has written your work and efforts on his feet! However, it would be best to remain calm to defend your rights well. Otherwise, emotional reactions such as aggression will end up harming you.
2. Assess the situation
After you have calmed down, assess the situation. Was this intentional or accidental? Maybe your colleague forgot to mention you. Also, in some situations, it is unnecessary to say yourself, like when you helped the keynote speaker write the speech’s text. Don’t imagine worst-case scenarios at the very beginning.
By examining each situation, you can understand how it happened so that you can react accordingly.
3. Talk to the offending person
If you are sure that your co-worker has done the work in which you had a part in his name, go to the person himself before filing accusations and complaints with the manager. Talk to him about how and how much he sees himself contributing to the work. This is how you understand his point of view.
4. Submit your suggestions
Provide a solution to the problem. For example, ask him to write your name. If the work in question is unimportant, you can ask him to follow this in the future. You should go to the upper managers if you do not get anywhere with the conversation.
5. Mention your role without naming the culprit
When raising the issue, you can make it look like an inadvertent error or misunderstanding without calling your colleague. Accusations such as deliberately not calling you may inflame the work environment. Instead, limiting yourself to explaining your role in the said work is better.
Tips you should follow to deal with a wrong colleague
1. Be grateful to others
If you believe that each person’s name should be mentioned according to the level of his cooperation, then follow this principle yourself. Your expectation will be correct, but you should not complain now if you have not followed this principle.
Establishing a healthy, intimate relationship with colleagues and mutual appreciation usually prevents such incidents.
2. Record and maintain your work records
You must provide documents and prove that you contributed to the work if necessary. So be sure to collect and keep the records, documents, and proofs of your presence at work.
3. Speak confidently in public
Confidently express your opinions and ideas during various meetings. This is how everyone remembers you and your ideas. If you design them secretly, you cannot prove later that you created them.
4. Forgive minor tasks
If what happened is unnecessary and what was done in someone else’s name is not essential, skip the follow-up. Spend your energy on more important things.
5. Replace questioning with accusations
Always have a questioning tone in the conversation with the erring person or the managers instead of making accusations. Instead of saying that someone stole my idea or design, talk about the absence of your name in the presented design, How you contributed to the work, and how surprised you were not mentioned.
Advice from HR professionals
To better understand the issue, we have presented an example of a question from an employee whose job is given a different name and the answer of a human resources specialist in this section.
Employee question
One of our colleagues coordinates and manages different departments, and we do the work. When the manager encourages him, I feel like we are being ignored. Should I reduce my cooperation with him or ask him to mention our name when presenting the work?
The answer of the human resources specialist
It is disappointing that we are not appreciated and our work is not seen. It is also sad that someone wants to write our work under his name. But looking for other ways to solve the problem is better than withdrawing and breaking the work.
First, control your anger. Do not make decisions or take action when angry. Then, ask yourself if my colleague understands that not mentioning the names of the people involved in our work makes us uncomfortable. Is he doing this on purpose or just out of ignorance?
TTalk to him. Maybe he will secretly mention your role in the project to the managers. You won’t know for sure what it is until you ask him. Be sure to use a questioning tone instead of accusingly when talking to him. For example, say, “It seems that the manager does not understand our role in the work. Did you inform him that we were also involved?” If he notices that he’s ignoring you, you can ask him to let the manager know. If he doesn’t accept your request or denies your role, you should talk to the manager yourself. For example, say, “I’m glad you liked the work I was involved in.”
Last advice
After going through all these steps, following the mentioned points, and even complaining to the manager that your work is still being labeled as someone else’s, you should consider changing your job. Maybe you are stuck in a toxic work environment. An environment where stealing other people’s work has become a habit is not a good place to work.
your experience
What experience do you have in this regard? Have you ever had your colleague copy your work? What was your reaction, and how was the problem finally solved? Please share your thoughts and experiences with us and other readers.
