My quarterly review went sideways when I mentioned a side project

Last Tuesday I had my Q3 review at a logistics firm near Columbus. I casually brought up a small data cleanup tool I built for my own workflow, and my manager latched onto it like a hungry dog. Next thing I know, I'm being assigned to lead a full team project with zero extra pay or time. Has anyone else had a side project turn into a surprise promotion trap, or am I just dealing with a weird boss?

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hollyl452mo ago

Hold on, you said you "casually mentioned" it, but you probably showed it off too, right? I mean, bringing up a tool you built is basically waving a red flag in front of a manager who's looking for free labor. You basically handed them the answer to a problem they didn't even know they had. That's not a weird boss thing, that's just how managers think, they see a solution and they wanna own it. You gotta learn to keep those projects quiet until you actually want the extra work. Next time, just say "oh this old thing, it barely works" and change the subject.

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