Having hard work or innovative thinking acknowledged is an important element of workplace satisfaction, but many employees report having their good ideas stolen or seeing others take credit for their accomplishments, whether by a coworker or their boss.

While it is inevitable that some of the appreciation for successful projects will be misdirected over the course of a professional's career, a prolonged pattern of hijacked ideas or lack of recognition can lead to employee disengagement, and in these cases, should not go ignored.

According to a new survey from OfficeTeam, 29 percent of employees reported having their ideas stolen by a coworker or having their coworkers take credit for their work.

When asked what they did in response, 26 percent of respondents said they spoke up to let others know that it was actually their idea, 13 percent informed their manager and 13 percent decided to confront the idea-thief themselves.

However, the survey found that those who take credit for other people's work are likely to get away with it, as 51 percent of respondents said they did nothing to address the problem.

"Today's workplace is more competitive than ever and, unfortunately, there are people who will go to great lengths to make themselves look good or get promoted, including taking credit for someone else's ideas," David Hosking, executive director of OfficeTeam, said in an announcement of the findings. "Being proactive in sharing your vision with your manager and colleagues early on can help ensure others know the concept originated with you."

What should you do when your efforts are being co-opted?

Identifying situations where an employee is misappropriating credit for someone else's work can be tricky, particularly when operating in team settings or through close collaboration. In these cases, allowing coworkers to share in one's accomplishment can be critical because not everyone's contributions may be immediately evident.

"The dilemma is that the office environment works best when there is a free flow of ideas. I may be the first to think of a particular new product or process, but three other people may come up with successive variations that improve on my idea, and in the end who can say which of us came up with 'the idea' that proved to be of benefit to the company?" Office-Politics writes.

But when it becomes clear that an idea of yours has been stolen, causing you to lose out on an important career opportunity or reflecting negatively upon your own contributions to the company, it becomes necessary to resolve the issue.

According to Personnel Today, the first step is to assess the incident to determine if the idea theft was intentional or an accidental result of miscommunication. Perhaps your manager was missing all the facts, or you did not clarify that this was your own work. If you discover that someone knowingly took credit for your own efforts, the next measure is usually to speak to your manager or to confront the credit-taking coworker in person.

"When tackling the individual, be professional and avoid an emotional confrontation. In the interest of continuing good relations, be prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt and accept that it may have been [due] to a misunderstanding or a genuine mistake on their part," Personnel Today advises.

When bringing the issue to light with your boss, avoid being too harsh on or judgmental of your coworker. Explain that you simply want recognition for your work and not to disparage the other person.

But what if your boss is the one stealing credit for your ideas?

In these situations, it can help to voice your expectations of being rewarded by your boss for your good ideas in the future, through performance reviews, for example, or when being considered for a promotion. If the behavior continues without any type of acknowledgment from your manager, more aggressive measures may be needed.

"One way to protect yourself is to make sure there are enough people — ideally, senior people — around you [who] are aware of your contributions to some of these projects or ideas that your boss is taking credit for," CBS MoneyWatch recently explained. "Send e-mails around noting progress that you've made and responding to feedback and concerns; eventually, it'll start to be understood that you're playing a key role and more, especially if you've been good about developing a general reputation at your company for doing quality work."

OfficeTeam recommends the following suggestions for dealing with coworkers or bosses who may be stealing credit for your work:

• Report up the chain at your company about your ideas and work progress;
• Look for patterns to determine if your efforts are regularly being co-opted;
• Don't act hastily or accuse anyone of misconduct until the facts are clear;
• Set the record straight by bringing problems to light in a diplomatic fashion; and
• Give credit back to other workers when ideas are attributed to you so that they'll return the favor in the future.

Having the wrong person receive credit for someone else's work is not unusual, but speaking up and making reasonable demands for recognition can help shift positive attention to where it belongs. The important thing is that if your ideas or hard work have been stolen, make sure to avoid doing the same to someone else.

Earlier

Sticky Fingers at Work

Making Disengaged Employees Feel Valued

Resources

Office Bandits
OfficeTeam, Oct. 8, 2009

Credit Stolen by a Backstabber!
by John Burton
Office-Politics, April 3, 2008

Handle Someone Taking Credit for Your Work
by Scott Beagrie
Personnel Today, Nov. 12, 2007

Help! My Boss is Trying to Credit for My Ideas
by Ron Brown
CBS MoneyWatch/BNET, Sept. 17, 2009