31-year-old New Zealand earthquake specialist gets even with 28-year-old coworker who undermines her in front of clients: 'I turned to the clients and said, "Actually, Brendan's made an error"'

What could be more satisfying than getting back at the coworker who keeps taking credit for your work? In the workplace, this happens all the time — maybe it's even happened to you. You're sitting in a meeting and pitch a great idea that you've been pondering for days. There's barely any response, but then a few minutes later, your colleague pitches the same idea, and this time, your boss pays attention and loves the idea. If you protest about this, it doesn't always make you look good, but if you ignore it, that same coworker can keep doing that over and over again! It's a hard cycle to break, but at a certain point, you just have to address the elephant in the room and stand up for yourself. 

This woman realized that she had to take a stand for herself, and it's a good thing she did, because the safety of New Zealand residents was at stake. It's one of the most earthquake-prone areas in the entire world! So structural engineers like this woman provide a crucial service to residents. She shared that her specialty is "earthquake retrofitting," and with 8 years of experience, she's very qualified to inform clients about what their buildings need to withstand big earth-shaking moments. 

However, her colleague Brendan is under the assumption that she knows nothing, and he keeps explaining basic concepts to her in front of clients! It's totally impolite and unnecessary, and in a job that involves public safety, it's important that she did speak up to inform her clients of what they needed to know. 

Author image for Remy Millisky Remy Millisky
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