The first question is remarkably easy to answer. These things happen because there is no reprimand for people indulging in “plagiarism”. All one needs to do it to “forget” to cite the contribution of a person to the work in question so as to intentionally or otherwise create an impression that the work in question is attributable to oneself. The person who does so ends up being given the credit for the work. It is surprisingly easy to pass such actions off as an innocent oversight on the part of the person indulging in it. It is obvious that very little can be presented in the form of evidence to establish “intent” and people who do this invariably get away with it. All one needs to say is one was just presenting the “invention” or “solution” and did not pay much attention to getting the attributions right. After all how does it matter who in the organization was the originator? The organization did benefit from the “invention” even if it was not attributed properly. The reality is that such conduct does leave the person at the receiving end of the over-sight pretty disgusted and such action is indeed “unethical”.
If this does happen to you, your reactions to the event would be to ignore it if the person were doing it for the first time. You would also find yourselves rationalizing the person’s actions as desperation to get noticed. Over time, you will also realize that it is so common in the work-place and will do nothing about it since you do not want to be a whiner by raising a flag. Your inaction ends up reinforcing the “offenders” belief that it is acceptable to indulge in such actions. The “offender” continues to behave the same way and you will find yourselves increasingly unable to accept it as unintentional. If you finally do get around to flagging it to higher authorities, you will find them helpless about it. The most you will get is some sympathy. It is quite likely that they have been through this before and found themselves unable to do anything about it and are very likely to tell you that it is a lost cause and you are better off moving on.
So, you are left fuming. Doing nothing is not going to help your cause at all. It is quite unlikely that you will get over the negativity in yourselves without doing something about it. I’d recommend following the approach “Eckhart Tolle” recommends in his book “The Power of Now”. There are three things you can do about any problem that affects
- Remove yourself from this situation.
- Change it.
- Accept it.
The first suggestion implies that you try to stay away from such people. Let your manager know that you are no longer interested in working on any “assignments” which involve collaborating with the offender. Clarify to your manager that such an approach does ensure your emotional well-being and consequently is required to keep your personal contributions significant. It is my personal experience that this approach does not work. People will continue to find a way to steal credit for your work. You cannot hide. I’ve found that leaving the problem unattended does ensure that the next offence is bigger than the previous ones. Also worth noting is that you will always perceive the next offence to be bigger even if it is minor in nature.
The second approach to try would be to change the situation that exists. Changing others is usually a dead-end. The most you can do is “Be the change you want to see in the world”. Make it a point to attribute any ideas you present to its originators and give credit where it is due. It is quite likely that some people will get the idea and start doing the same. This might set a culture of “attribution” in your group that will help alleviate the problem. Be advised that there are enough unscrupulous elements around who will continue to annoy you.
That leaves you with only one thing to do. Accept that you live in an imperfect world. A certain amount of dishonesty exists. In the long run, dishonest people are bound to be less successful than honest ones. Just focus on your own work and keep improving. Some of your work will be stolen and there is nothing you can do about it. It is also true that the time you spend bothering is actually time subtracted from your life that you could put to better use. If you want to be happy, you will need to make your life to do entirely with yourself and almost nothing to do with others. I consider myself very lucky and indeed grateful to be working for a manager who was able to take me here. I also recognize that most are not so lucky. If you are one of them, please consider looking into the words of the many great masters who have shared their wisdom with the world. The ones I’ve found useful are
- God talks with Arjuna. The Bhagawat Gita by Paramahansa Yogananda.
- “Inner War and Peace”. Timeless solutions to conflict from the Bhagawat Gita. Compiled talks by Osho.
- “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle.
I would also like to point out that it might be beneficial to encounter the futility of the approaches that I’ve cited as unlikely to work before you get to the state of acceptance. I found that such a journey shapes your character and prepares you to let go and move on. It is quite likely that you might be able to move on without going through the pain of failing to deal with it. It is entirely possible that the lessons you have learned through the other “pains” you have experienced in life have prepared you adequately to let go and move on. It might also be helpful for you to relate this problem to the others you have faced in life. It appears that one does have to let go and move on to lead a life where suffering and frustration are minimal.
In short, the next time someone steals credit for your work, fume in anger, shake you head in disgust and move on.
I will sign off with a quote my wife introduced to me. It is from Sri Sri Ravishankar of the “Art of Living” foundation. “Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional”.
