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Woman’s Boss Kept Presenting Her Work As Theirs, So She Added A Hidden Signature, And It’s Hilariously Petty
Toxicity in workplaces need to be stopped.
Cristina Sevcenco happens to be a victim of a toxic organization. In 2019, the now 25-Year-Old was hired for her first corporate job and spent two weeks conducting market research that eventually developed powerful insights. But shortly after presenting her findings to her manager [unnamed], Cristina found her work shown in a room full of compelling people.
“However, my name was not once mentioned. It broke my heart.” She expressed.
Before this incident, Cristina’s manager had once told her she would rarely be the one presenting her work for the higher management but was never told that they wouldn’t even bother to change anything in the presentation, except HER NAME. After stumbling on the scene, Cristiana, according to BuzzFeed, summoned the courage and told her boss how uncomfortable the situation made her feel.
“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.”
Cristina, at this time, felt her manager was pushing their career forward on the back of her effort without offering any credit where it was due. She continued: “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 did not flinch an eye about this subject – quickly brushed it off and moved on to the next.”
Having had enough, Cristiana hid her signature within the presentation. Doing this, when someone downloads the PowerPoint her watermark, a faint digital signature will remain irremovable.
Unfortunately, her boss instructed her to remove it after discovering the hidden signature and urged Cristiana to resend the project and never do it again. “Days later, she asked her manager to talk to me about “how things work around here.” 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 started working for another organization but now focuses on freelancing and business pursuits.
In hindsight, she thinks managers passing off the work as their own is common, especially as most work seems like a lion cage. She insisted: “You need to fight your way up. Literally, no matter who gets hurt. [My manager’s] boss was the same. I truly believe [My manager] wasn’t a bad person but she was made that way by her manager.”
When asked how such practice could be halted, Cristina urged managers to remember they work with people – not just employees.
She has since shared the ordeal with TikTok [as pictured above], where most people have requested a watermarking tutorial.
@cristinasevcenco Watch me get urgent calls “Cristina, there is a watermark on the ppt, could you please attach?” #fyp #businesstok #corporate #businesstiktok #job rumour has it x maneater – allie bennett
Here’re some reactions to her video:
