At my workplace, I had a colleague who was smart enough to take credit for everything I did. I was mostly behind the scenes, quietly enjoying my work. She had a good rapport with the higher-ups. Every task that needed to be done was discussed with her first, and she would pass on the orders to me. Then she’d disappear until the task was complete. Meanwhile, the higher-ups believed she was the one contributing to all the work because she delivered the feedback reports.

I wasn’t comfortable speaking up in front of the higher-ups. I would tell myself, “I love my work anyway, that’s what matters.” But inside, I was constantly frustrated and complaining to myself. Have you ever felt like this?

After going through some transformational programs, I started working on myself. Slowly, I found the courage to speak up. When tasks came to her, I stayed quiet instead of jumping in right away. The higher-ups started asking her about the status a few times. When they found the tasks were still pending, they called the whole team and reassigned the work. I only did what was directly assigned to me.

One day, she was asked for details about a task but couldn’t answer because she hadn’t been involved. She came back frustrated, saying she felt ashamed and asked why I hadn’t explained things to her. That was when I took a big step: I emailed the higher-ups and told them to ask me for the reports, as I was the one designing and executing the work. The relief I felt was huge.

If you’re happy just doing your work and getting paid without caring about credit, that’s fine. But if you feel it’s unfair and want to own your achievements, you have to speak up—and that’s okay too. Just don’t get stuck in the middle.

In every situation, you have two choices: accept or resist. Choose without regrets. What matters most is your peace of mind and mental well-being, whatever you choose.

How do you usually handle situations where your work goes unrecognized?