The theft of ideas

According to a recent survey, there’s a common type of workplace theft — and it has nothing to do with missing office supplies. Twenty-nine percent of employees interviewed said that a coworker has taken credit for their idea.

Those who steal the limelight from their more deserving colleagues may get away with it, too: 51 percent of those who have had their ideas nabbed by coworkers revealed they did nothing in response.

The survey was developed by staffing firm OfficeTeam.

OfficeTeam offers the following tips for getting the credit you deserve:

• Report up. Use status updates to remind your manager of your ideas and the progress being made to implement them.
• Look for patterns. If a minor contribution is occasionally overlooked, you may decide to let it go. However, if other people routinely get credit for your ideas, it’s a sign that you need to be more assertive.
• Don’t act in haste. When someone receives credit for your idea, try to get to the bottom of the situation. It could be a misunderstanding. Be sure to give your colleague the opportunity to present his or her side of the story to you.
• Set the record straight. If you are credited with a coworker’s idea, be sure to swiftly correct the situation. Your colleague will appreciate it.

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