I supervise a part-time employee who is genuinely excellent at certain aspects of the job. I’ve learned a lot from him, and this isn’t a criticism of him or the higher-ups. Also I am unionized so I can’t be fired in my role unless I get 5 years-worth of poor performance reviews (which I haven’t).
I have learned from him on the tasks that he’s really good at and have applied that knowledge well. The problem is that leadership has started assuming he’s responsible for work that I’ve actually done, sometimes giving him credit for things I complete myself. They also increasingly go directly to him for tasks that are technically my responsibility, without consulting me or my supervisor. It’s frustrating because it makes me feel like the things I’ve improved at and the work I’ve been doing for years aren’t being recognized. And that I suck at my job.
I’ve also had a pretty difficult year personally, and my memory and focus have suffered due to being postpartum and dealing with a high-conflict divorce. I’m working on that, but the combination of struggling internally and feeling overlooked at work has been really demoralizing. I’m starting to wonder whether I should look for another job, even though I genuinely like my coworkers and don’t think anyone is intentionally trying to undermine me.
What would you do in this situation?