Kate Hackett
Cristina Sevcenco recently shared with BuzzFeed that in 2019, at her first corporate job, she joined the ranks of frustrated employees who can’t believe that the industry isn’t treating them better.
At that office, she worked for two weeks in market research that would eventually be shared with some higher ups.
“I walked by an office and saw my work being presented in a room full of very powerful people. However, my name was not once mentioned. … It broke my heart,” Cristina explained.
“Although my manager once told me that I would rarely be the one presenting my work for the higher management, she never told me that they wouldn’t even bother to change anything in the presentation BUT MY NAME,” she said.
Cristina tried to talk to her boss about the situation. “I tried explaining to her. … It was never about promotions or bonuses, it was more about their recognition and their pat on the back for me,” she stated. Cristina also pointed out that it looked as if the manager was promoting her own career and stepping on others to do so.
“I told her that at that moment, I was leveraging her manager performance, but my to-do list was full to the top with unfinished projects,” she said. “She did not flinch an eye about this subject — quickly brushed it off and moved on to the next.”
So Cristina took it next level: she hid her signature in a digital watermark within the PowerPoint.
The TikTok went absolutely viral — for the saddest reason. This whole thing? The boss-stealing-my-work? It’s all too common.
After finding the signature, Cristina’s boss came down on her and told her to remove it and never do it again.
“Days later, she asked her manager to talk to me about ‘how things work around here,'” Cristina told BuzzFeed. “My career definitely slowed down. She didn’t give me as many projects anymore, [and] she was talking to everyone about how to perform better, [except] me. Later on, I found out they replaced me and I had 21 days to find another job.”
Cristina has moved on to other work, but has expressed that “I think [managers passing off work as their own is] common because in this field of work, it’s like a lion cage. You need to fight your way up. Literally. No matter who gets hurt.” “[My manager’s] boss was the same,” she continued. “I truly believe [my manager] wasn’t a bad person, but she was made that way by her manager.”
“Sometimes people forget that they work with people, for people,” Cristina concluded. “It doesn’t always have to be a competition. We can work together to grow. We don’t need to steal from each other. We can learn from each other and be better — create a better [workspace]…where everyone is supported and appreciated. But sometimes, I feel like that’s just a dream.”
