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How do you guys deal with this?
I just passed my 6 month probation. My "senior" colleague (only by tenure at this workplace, not by age or experience) has started claiming credit for work assigned to both of us to share. Granted, I need him to point me in the right direction, but then I'll do 90% of the work and then he'll act as if he did it all!
For context, we're both lawyers. Sadly I'm in an extremely competitive scrote-infested industry.
He tends to use "I" statements when reporting to the boss ("I did xyz, I spoke to xyz, etc") when the billing report clearly shows I did all that. Sadly bosses are so busy they may not notice this when reviewing the billing. The boss and my colleague are pretty tight too, which doesn't help my case.
I feel I'm treading in uncharted territory too- being quite new to the profession and corporate life. I don’t want to cause a scene but I also don't want to be a doormat of course!
Then there's the added gendered issues in the workplace: whether causing a fuss comes across as too "libfem girl-boss", but then responding passive aggressively is b*tchy and then doing nothing makes me seem feeble. All options sound like they'll backfire. Ugh!
You may want to look at female lawyer forums or something similar for advice that is particular to your field, but I would start with CCing your boss in on documents or emails. You can pretend like you have a question for him but include the doc/email that shows the history of who did or is doing what. Mention it where you can and include proof where you can.
You could also try reporting to your boss first about what you BOTH are doing, or drop it in casual conversation, etc.
The only ways I've found to avoid these things in the workplace is to be preemptive, smarter, and faster than my coworkers about what they might try to pull. I have women on my team that do this all the time.... I'm already anticipating and preparing for their next moves with things that are hitting this summer/fall to ensure they can't do it again. It's tiring, but I've learned to pretty much always be doing this at work. People are snakes in the workplace...
I wouldn't call him out, since you mentioned that he is tight with the boss. Instead I would suggest putting the concept of "working loudly" into your every day. Be just a tiny bit quicker than him in providing updates. Find opportunities to ask relevant questions about the work that YOU specifically did...even if you already know the answer. During REX type of meetings, mention how helpful he was on XYZ while laying on thick the work that YOU DID with his HELP. It won't be overnight but it works over time and you don't run the risk of "frigid b*tch" treatment...you know, for standing up for yourself like a man would 😒
Be a pitbull.
Go up to one of the managers, and politely say this, verbatim. "Hey, sorry to bother you! Hope your morning is going well. I was thinking about the last few projects I've done with (dude) and while I had a fantastic time working with him, I noticed that maybe it seemed like I didn't do as much work as i actually did from how things were worded. Of course, I wouldn't have been able to do ALL THAT without (dudes) advice."
See if you can wedge this in in front of multiple bosses, so as least one will take your side. You can professionally take credit without seeming bitchy.
The only thing you have to watch out for is people being jealous of you for politely being able to stick up for yourself - not many people can do that.