Workplace bias?
I’d genuinely like an outside perspective because I can’t tell whether I’m overthinking things or whether my concerns are valid.
I work in a junior marketing role, and a coworker (let’s call her Sarah) joined about a month after I did.
wasn’t doing her share of the work
For roughly the first two months, Sarah wasn’t completing a lot of the work we were both assigned. I was consistently doing my tasks, and it was pretty obvious she wasn’t completing hers.
I raised it with my line manager who took a while to take action as they’re friends, and although Sarah started doing some of the work afterwards, she still wasn’t completing everything. Eventually I escalated it to my manager’s manager, and only then did she begin doing the full workload.
The downside was that after escalating it, I felt like I’d been labelled a snitch. My line manager in particular became noticeably colder towards me, and the working relationship deteriorated. Thankfully she left a few months later, so I got a fresh start with a new manager
copying briefs
Part of our job involves writing briefs for stakeholders. I usually complete mine well in advance.
I noticed Sarah began copying the same structure and key messaging as my briefs. I raised it with my manager, and the process was changed. That solved the issue, but the copying was brushed under the rug
copying work
In a meeting today, I noticed she’d copied my reporting word-for-word into her own brief without asking me.
The problem is that stakeholders now assume that my work (which I’ve been complimented by several members of the team) is hers
I’ve raised this with my current line manager and am waiting to hear how they’ll deal with it
annual leave seems to be handled differently
A couple of months ago, I requested annual leave well in advance over a bank holiday weekend.
It was declined because my line manager doesn’t work Fridays, our lead manager was already on leave, and I was told Sarah would be left alone (even though there was another manager covering).
Last Thursday, our lead manager rang me to ask if I’d be okay with Sarah taking a last-minute Friday off to attend Wimbledon, provided she finished her work (I would be left alone with a cover as the lead manager was also on A/L).
I felt put on the spot because saying no would have made me look like the bad guy, so I agreed.
She did complete her work, but I spent more of time amending her work more than mine because an offer changed on one of her campaigns.
What confuses me is that last week both my managers were off and I was effectively working alone with a covering manager, which doesn’t seem that different from the situation when my own leave was rejected. This week will also be Sarah’s third Friday off in a row.
salary disparity
Sarah originally joined as a contractor, and that contractor role was advertised while I was interviewing. HR shared the salary ranges for both roles, so I know the contractor salary was higher than mine.
I mentioned the difference to my previous manager, who confirmed it and suggested I raise it during my annual review - I didn’t, mainly because my relationship with that manager had become quite poor after the earlier issues.
Sarah has since become a permanent employee. We both recently received pay rises, and when I mentioned the pay gap, I was told I shouldn’t assume what Sarah earns.
Our previous manager had already confirmed the difference, and I still have the original HR email showing the salary bands.
Am I reading too much into this, or does this sound like a genuine pattern of inconsistent treatment?