Two Positive Stories about Orthodox Jews
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A vocal co-worker is overshadowing my achievements!
Q. One of my co-workers is very vocal about all the contributions she makes to the office and how indispensable she is. I feel that she steps on me to get more recognition. How can I get my contribution acknowledged?
A. Working quietly and not flaunting your achievements is certainly praiseworthy conduct. Such a demeanor displays both confidence and modesty. Certainly an employee shouldn't suffer because of an exemplary character. So how does this come about?
In an ideal work environment, recognition and advancement are based on equitable measures of achievement, including periodic performance evaluations and constructive feedback. Making the most noise just isn't part of the equation. There are many workplaces like this, but realistically they are a minority.
Conversely, in a really corrupt work environment style takes priority over substance, and the competition for recognition becomes a shouting match. Fortunately, workplaces like this are relatively few. One reason is that they don't last long, since when the outside is cultivated and the innerness neglected, the result is a hollow workplace which tends to implode.
Most workplaces, especially smaller ones, tend to be in between. Managers are well-meaning and would like to distribute recognition and advancement based on achievement, but are just too distracted to institute a consistent evaluation plan to attain this. They rely heavily on vocal comments and flaunting not because they value them but because they view this as a shortcut to knowing what's really going on. They may rationalize that ultimately this system too is equitable, insofar as all workers are equally able to "blow their own horns". This is the situation you seem to describe in your workplace.
I would recommend three things:
Of course we should never compromise on modesty, which Judaism teaches us is the true glory of a human being. Just keep in mind that you are not flaunting your personality but rather your objective accomplishments.
The great early Medieval authority Rav Shlomo Adret (Rashba) was asked if someone who donated a building for a synagogue could demand that his name be placed on the entrance. The Rashba replied that not only is this permissible, but it is even praiseworthy "in order to give a reward to those who do a mitzvah." He then pointed out that the Torah itself is careful to document the acts of the righteous, "and if the Torah does so, we need to follow the Torah's ways, which are the ways of pleasantness."
The Rashba then brings many citations from the Sages to prove that once someone knows he is going to get credit for his good deeds, he does them with special joy and enthusiasm, and that this applies even to a completely righteous individual who would definitely do the good deed anyway. (1)
So you are completely justified in valuing appropriate recognition for your genuine contributions at work.
SOURCES: (1) Responsa Rashba I:581.
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