Q After I left a marketing communications position, a colleague took my name off the publications I created and promoted them as her own work. Since I produced them on company time, of course the copyright belongs to the company. I’m wondering if I should preserve my reputation, though. Is there anything I should do now?

— Anonymous

A Question for you: What do you mean when you say “preserve your reputation”? Do you feel as if your colleague promoting your work as her own somehow damages your standing in your professional community? That by not being properly credited, your work is not only overlooked but injured? That your work is, or will be, discounted by your former employer?

Listen, I’m not trying to downplay what your colleague has done — or is doing. It’s crappy and it’s dishonest and it demonstrates a lack of moral and professional integrity. But I’m not hearing, at least in your brief recounting, any reason for you to worry about your reputation.

But I’ll admit I don’t have all the facts. What does it mean that your colleague “promoted” your work as her own? Did she do this within the company, i.e., to superiors? Did she do it to outside clients and partners? Do you feel that you were not given credit for your hard work in the first place?

I don’t have any answers, except to try to reassure you, based on what you’ve shared, that your reputation will be fine.

As you said, the copyright belongs to the company; there’s nothing you can really do to keep receiving public credit for work you did in your former position. So my answer is: Don’t worry about doing anything now, or later, though when talking to new or potential employers, don’t hesitate to take that credit.

Ideally you have copies of the marketing publications that you created that include your name. I’d avoid confronting the former colleague, however. Not because she doesn’t deserve it — she does — but because you run the risk of creating conflict that will do nothing to serve you professionally, and might even hurt. Better to walk away with your head held high and, ideally, evidence of your good work.

Anna Holmes is a writer and editor whose work has appeared in publications including the New York Times Washington Post and The New Yorker.