5 Signs You’re Being Undermined At Work (Or Worse)

Do you sometimes feel like you’re being undermined at work? If that’s the case, then this guide is here to help you. We look at some of the more subtle as well as obvious cases of being undermined and how it can lead to a slow erosion of your confidence and authority. By the end of this article, you should know more about the tactics that are being used against you and what you can potentially do about them.

Moving the goalposts

A clear sign of being undermined at work is when your colleagues move the goalposts. They started by setting you one particular objective, but then they changed it to something else, and it doesn’t make sense. When it comes time for a review, you always seem to be short of the mark. 

The tactic here is to add new and unstated requirements to your work after you’ve already done it. This denies you the opportunity to do the work in the way that is allegedly requested and ultimately reduces the perceived quality of your work, even if you were following instructions. 

Ultimately, the goal is to make you expendable and store your career progression. A lot of companies don’t like having people around who are absolutely necessary for their functioning, and they’d rather be able to change them in and out because it gives them more power.

Assignment sabotage

Sometimes you will also come across so-called assignment sabotage. The idea here is to give you high-effort tasks that have zero visibility, so you can’t take credit for it later with your colleagues or peers. You’re essentially being given projects that are designed to fail from the start because of a lack of resources. This tactic is designed to divert you away from genuine revenue generating projects on to special tasks that don’t go anywhere. Again, the hope here is that your career progression will stall and you’ll be viewed as expendable. Assignment sabotage reduces the risk of you being able to qualify for raises or promotions, keeping the existing power structure in place.

Idea hijacking

Another sign that you’re being undermined is if you find yourself becoming the victim of idea hijacking. The idea, for example, let’s say you suggest a solution to a problem in a small group of colleagues, and it’s ignored, then ten minutes later somebody else suggests a similar idea or exactly the same thing, and everyone suddenly praises them. People do this to rephrase your specific idea as their own discovery to gain more social status and credit. This can help in companies where competition for promotions is fierce; however, the goal is to reduce your social and professional capital to the point where you’re rendered invisible. The other person wants to take credit for all of your hard work and originality, and that’s not fair. The idea hijacking tactic is one of the most pernicious in the entire business space for this reason.

Microaggressions

You might also be the victim of being undermined if you’re experiencing microaggressions. These can often seem minor and inconsequential but have a lasting impact on your ability to function in the right way emotionally. For example, suppose you’re giving a PowerPoint presentation and somebody points out a typo on one of the latest slides, even though it doesn’t interrupt their understanding. The tactic here is to point out something that disrupts your flow and signals to other people in the room that you require supervising. 

Another tactic is to subtly undermine your physical space and invade it. People, often managers, can sometimes do this to intimidate their staff. In this situation, it may be worth going to HR or a harassment lawyer to discuss your rights. 

Information blackout

Finally, you could also find yourself becoming the victim of an information blackout. Let’s say there’s a deadline change or there’s a new hire at the office. Instead of telling you directly, you find out about it via a Securitas route. The tactic here is to forget to CC you on emails and leave you off calendar invites. The goal is to take you out of the loop and make you look less unprepared during meetings and professional gatherings. These tactics are unfair, but they can be highly effective, especially if there is a communication gap between you and managers higher up the corporate hierarchy that you trust.

So there you have it: some of the signs you’re being subtly undermined at work and what you can do about them. Don’t be afraid to take action and identify the various forms of undermining being used against you.