Employee Who Stole a Coworker's Project to Get Promoted Then Tried to Expose Him for Not Helping With It: ‘Apparently, he told them that the project was falling behind because I was withholding information...’

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Olivia Arocena • Writer and Editor
Sep 13, 2026 9:45 AM EDT

If you are 'smart' enough to copy an entire project, you shouldn't try to make the person who created it help you make it work! They'll likely find out you copied them!

I thought this was an unspoken rule of copying, but time and again, it turns out I'm wrong, and it seems you can't assume people will behave coherently. All in all, this example is rather righteous, and the bad guy of the story only made matters worse for themselves. So to each their own!

Apparently, divine justice exists, and bad guys who took our credit will eventually fall without our help. Of course, this doesn't happen every time, but we surely should enjoy it every time it does.

I don't think this employee should assume any informal responsibility and help his former colleague be further celebrated for a project he created. The thing is, it is not in anyone's best interest to seem bitter and uncooperative, so the thief's empire should fall without their involvement.

The only way to remain dignified, in my opinion, is to subtly mention that he created the project, without making a big deal of it, because it reflects badly on him, and to be willing to cooperate with a positive attitude.

The hardest part would be to remain calm and agreeable while your ego is fragile and you feel a little envious, because, let's face it, I think he feels a little envious, and that's the root cause of all this drama.

Do you think he would've gotten the promotion if managers knew the project was his? I'm not really sure…

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  • This is how people should compete for a promotion

    Cheezburger Image 10663235840
    via Vitaly Gariev

    The employees competing for a promotion

    Models pictured are not representative

     

  • UPDATE : AITJ my coworker who used my work to get promoted is now blaming me for his project falling behind

    Earlier this week, my coworker approached me and asked if I could "quickly review" part of his new project./ It sounded suspiciously similar to how everything started last time, so I calmly said I was
    via Gingeerbeauty
  • focusing on my own responsibilities and asked him to send any official requests by email. He immediately became cold and said I was deliberately making things difficult for him.. Later, my manager asked why I had refused to
    via Gingeerbeauty
  • provide him with "necessary support" apparently, he told them that the project was falling behind because I was withholding information... That honestly crushed me, he took credit when my
    via Gingeerbeauty
  • work helped him succeed, but now that I've stepped back, he's trying to make his difficulties my fault too. A few coworkers have also become noticeably distant, so I'm worried he has been telling them his version of events... The
    via Gingeerbeauty
  • good news is that I found some old messages where he thanked me for completing parts of the previous project and promised to mention my contribution. I also have file histories showing how much work I actually did.
    via Gingeerbeauty
  • I've requested a private meeting with my manager and started organizing everything, but the meeting hasn't happened yet. I'm anxious because he now has the promoted position and more credibility than I do, while
    via Gingeerbeauty
  • Cheezburger Image 10663236096
    via Compagnons

    The help the other employee wants

    Still frame for contextual reference only

  • I'm already being portrayed as bitter and uncooperative.. I still don't know how this will end, but I'm not doing his work again, I'll update once I've spoken to management.
    via Gingeerbeauty
  • Gingeerbeauty OP Just to clarify, I have not refused any work officially assigned to me. I only refused to take over his responsibilities informally again. If management asks us to collaborate, I'll do my part, but everything will be documented this time.
    via Gingeerbeauty
  • Beautifulll7 yeah like... you didn't refuse assigned work, you refused being his unpaid intern again. huge difference.
    via Beautifulll7
  • Oncer93 He'll probably ask someone else to "help" him, and then take credit.
    via Oncer93
  • Cheezburger Image 10663236352
    via Vitaly Gariev

    How the employee can relax and wait for things to follow their natural course

    Stock photography for depiction only

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workplace-stories toxic-workplace work workplace toxic-work-environment
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