My manager handed me this in the middle of my work day and asked me to sign and give back by EOD. I told her before I left I didn’t have any down time to read it and I’d need to bring it back on Monday. She responded “okay I’ll make a note of that.”
I texted 4 of my coworkers and not a single one received the same thing. For context, I’ve worked here for about 2 years and never had to sign anything similar except a non-compete in my hiring contract. I recently directed a program for the first time just last month, which is listed here but name is crossed out for privacy. I also crossed out the company name, but this is a very small, individually owned company that‘s only been open less than 15 years. I also got notice of a raise effective September just yesterday and got paid my program stipend last week.
The owner and managers kept telling me what a resounding success my program was and how they hope to reboot it multiple times in 2025. I agreed and was onboard to continue the program. However I’ve been thinking about leaving for a long while and been applying for new jobs, and recent life circumstances have led me more frustrated than not with this company (cut hours in the summer, long commute, lack of communication). I may have mentioned I was applying to part time jobs to other coworkers but this isn’t odd because most employees here work part time with at least 2 jobs, including myself.
The timing of this feels very coincidental and the whole thing just feels off. I created 99% of the program materials from scratch with little to no input from any higher ups, but it’s not like a brand new original million dollar idea, it’s very much based on existing programs in our field. It’s all under an email I created for the extra Google storage, everything is Google docs and sheets or handwritten in my notebooks. I’m tempted to change the permissions of the documents and password to the account because my petty side doesn’t want them to lay claim to these materials. Is this just my company being unsophisticated or is there malicious intent here? Do I have any claim for my materials currently? I don’t want to burn any bridges and I don’t have any other jobs lined up currently, so not looking to leave over this either, but what could be my best course of action? Should I just suck it up and sign it?