I am an advertising executive for a large local company, and one of my coworkers is constantly stealing my ideas.  In the past she has reworded copy I had written and was tweaking for a client, and she submitted it for approval before I got the chance.  Another time she contacted a client that was about to be assigned to me after his regular ad exec left the company, and stole him right from under my nose.  I suspect she rifles through items on my desk when I go to lunch or on break.  Her latest scheme takes the cake, and has me fuming: She is taking credit for an entire advertising campaign that I developed over many weeks of interviewing and research.  How can I handle this situation?

Disgusted

Dear Disgusted,

Obviously, whenever you walk away from your desk, you would be wise to slide any important papers into a locked drawer.  Inconvenient, yes.  But apparently necessary.  Of course, you should always at least minimize, preferably close, any open docs on your computer screen; that’s just good office policy in any company.

Having done that, the way I see it, you have two options, which can be executed in tandem.  The first: Begin to document every step of your projects from the get-go.  Stockpile inter-office memos, requests for approval, detailed meeting summaries.  File the docs for each project separately for ease of accessibility.  Then, if your coworker pulls this stunt again, you’ll have an airtight case to present to upper management. 

In the meantime, if there’s a superior in your company in whom you can confide without asking for direct assistance, go to this person and describe the current situation.  Make it clear that you don’t want or expect anything to be done at this time, and let this person know you are documenting your projects just in case something should happen in the future.  Just making management aware in an informal way might encourage supervisors to support you when it happens again and you reveal the paper trail. 

Another option is to confront the idea snatcher, but beware; this approach may not be the most effective.  She probably won’t change her ways, but she may get sneakier.  She might also start undermining you in ways we cannot predict.  Best not to give her the impetus to start a campaign against you, which would be stressful for you even if she doesn’t get away with it.

We spend 40+ hours a week at our workplace, and added stress because of annoying, dishonest, or otherwise difficult coworkers is, unfortunately, a reality for too many people.  Sometimes we must call upon our reserves of patience and sense of humor to carry us through the situation.  Sometimes avoidance of the coworker whenever possible works.  But in your case, being proactive is the only solution.  Document, gain an influential ally, and don’t be afraid to reveal all to upper management if necessary.