My boss tells me to use documents from his previous employers
My boss is often passing me materials that he has taken from his previous employers and asking me to use them in my work.
This is perhaps a more common practice in the workplace than one would imagine. What marks out his behaviour however is the frequency, variety and confidentiality of the materials he has taken: these include his former employers’ interview processes and case studies, documents marked confidential and slides copied lock, stock and barrel. It is clear he is aware that what he is doing is inappropriate because when he passes me what he calls “really confidential” materials he provides only a hard copy and tells me not to leave them on my desk.
I have insisted before that he does not pass me any materials from his ex-employers, saying that I prefer to work off my own research and thinking. But this has fallen on deaf ears. To me this is corporate theft and I am being compromised by being in possession of these materials.
I have spoken to the compliance officer in my company and have been given a number of options. However, it is clear my boss’s line manager will defend his actions and I am more likely than not to be seen as a troublemaker or having an axe to grind – I was on sick leave from stress for two weeks in April last year and both my managers did not take kindly to it. The history of whistle-blowers in my company also does not give me much comfort.
I am concerned he has already amassed confidential materials including work that I have wholly worked on and will not hesitate to pass them off as his work and use them in his next job. Do I ignore his behaviour and focus on my work or do I raise the alarm on this?
Jeremy says
This is a hideous dilemma for you. You’ve already made the first wise move in speaking to your compliance officer and I’d dearly like to know the options you were offered. I can only assume none of them presented you with a satisfactory solution otherwise you wouldn’t have felt the need to write to me.
What this suggests is what you clearly suspect but haven’t put quite as baldly: your company, from the very top, is well aware of what your boss is up to but chooses to ignore or condone it. It may well be that it comforts itself with the thought that it’s standard practice for employees to take information with them when they move to competitive firms. The “everybody does it” shrug of the shoulders is a common corporate excuse for questionable behaviour.
It’s probably true that it’s impossible for knowledge gained in one job not to be put to use in another. But what makes your boss’s behaviour so disturbing is the scale of it and the level of confidentiality of the work he so consistently pilfers.
I deeply wish it weren’t the case but I can see nothing but grief in store for you if you decide to challenge this institutionalised malpractice. The entire firm would be ranged against you, your chances of any form of success would be minimal and the last thing you need is to incur more stress.
By raising the issue with the compliance officer you’ve already done enough for your conscience to be absolutely clear. So you’re left with a simple, if difficult, choice: you either accept the way your boss wants you to work or you start looking elsewhere. Of the two, I suspect that only a complete break will properly restore your peace of mind.
Readers say
• Who cares! If he had remembered all that stuff in his head and told you to reproduce it would it be any different? Don’t go running to the compliance officer like a tell-tale – that won’t do anyone any good. Everything is a play on someone else’s work, it’s not a matter of life and death. Just collect the pay cheque every month. PeakCar
• I would go back to the compliance officer and point out it is their job to deal with the breach of compliance, not yours. I would direct this to them in writing, making it clear that you are unhappy with the current practice but will continue to perform as directed by your manager pending relevant action being taken by the compliance officer. meepmeep
• The lines are fine in my experience. Templates, processes and generic slides are one thing and probably originally taken from other sources. Financials, spreadsheets, confidential market info, terms and conditions etc are another and will be commercially detrimental to the original company. In this instance ignore his material and state it is likely to be now out of date and you are obtaining research which better reflects today’s market conditions. Andrew Barker
I wasn’t given the chance to apply for an internal job – can I take legal action?
I have been working in a team of three since 2012. In early 2014 my manager left the company and my other teammate was reassigned to another role. There was top-down pressure from the management not to increase headcount and I covered all the work by myself.
This coincided with my wife’s long maternity leave (in another country) and I was able to work 12 to 14 hours every day to ensure we met deadlines and help the smooth running of the team. Six months on and out of nowhere, my “covering” manager has “appointed” someone to become my manager. The role was not discussed with me at all. It wasn’t advertised in our internal and external recruitment page. And I was not offered any opportunity to progress into the role, which I would fit perfectly.
Are there any legal grounds for me to bring this further?
Jeremy says
As you’ll know from the disclaimer at the bottom of this column, I’m not able to advise on legal matters. If you did take professional advice you might find you had a case against your firm for constructive dismissal. Failing that, your position, I’m afraid, is not a strong one.
Your company has taken your willingness to work absurdly long hours utterly for granted. It has not only failed to display any gratitude for such conscientiousness but probably, in some perverse way, has come to feel that no one prepared to submit themselves to such a punishing schedule could possibly be “management material” – and that’s a reputation that’s likely to stick. Your bosses won’t expect you to rebel.
You could surprise them. You could put forward your case and politely demand a promotion or a significant pay rise, and you might get it. But please make this move only if you’re confident of landing another, better job should you need to.
Readers say
• Welcome to reality my friend. A place where those who excel in good honest hard work are overlooked, those who fluff and dither avoid reprimand and those who kiss the most arse (openly or covertly) progress smoothly. The lesson is, do what you have to do to keep your job, nothing more. And if you really want to progress there’s only one way. Whether you choose to sell your dignity is up to you. Surfersaiyan
• No, you don’t have any legal recourse. I wonder if you’re more upset that you weren’t offered the position than actually wanting it. walkinginthesand
