Giving due credit - how easy, how difficult is it ?

As you may have guessed, this is yet another chapter from my ongoing office-politics saga.  

My earlier blogs on corporate culture and workplace dynamics have touched this theme in different forms like https://logicallekh.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-office-politics-saga.html 

but this one deserves its own space.

At the core of it lies a familiar truth: survival by hook or crook.

I strongly believe the 80/20 rule plays out perfectly in the corporate world.  

The 20% are the consistent contributors — the ones who think, build, and deliver.  

The remaining 80% are not idle, but a mixed lot — varied in capability, intent, and approach.

Within this mix exists a not-so-rare species:  

those who are quick to take credit for someone else’s work.

The reasons vary — survival, recognition, insecurity, lack of capability, or sometimes plain opportunism.  

When such behaviour is combined with an insecure, incapable, or selectively “smart” supervisor, it becomes a deadly combination.

I’ve experienced this firsthand — across roles, teams, and years.  

The impact is subtle but deep: constant frustration, quiet demotivation, and the mental fatigue of having to stay alert all the time.

Sometimes I fight back — irritated, angry, reactive.  

Sometimes I retreat into overthinking.  

And on better days, when my sane self prevails, I consciously choose calm.

I try to practise that last option more often now —  

not because it’s easy, but because it’s necessary.

It’s a long way to go, but awareness itself feels like the first win.