have you ever made a big mistake at work?

I just made a very big one, it was a simple case of human error and being overwhelmed with work. It could potetially cost the company some money. Im really afraid when my boss finds out something drastic is going to happen i have a not so nice boss that is a perfectionist.

Re: have you ever made a big mistake at work?

I'm so sorry! =( I hope it all works out!

Re: have you ever made a big mistake at work?

Re: have you ever made a big mistake at work?

everyone makes mistakes.

there is nothing wrong with you if you do.

go in to damage control mode. be upfront with your boss. tell him what happened, and what if anything can be done to fix it.

be proactive. dont' wait for him to berate your for it or worse.

and no matter what remember, mistakes are something we ALL make. don't kill yourself over it.

Re: have you ever made a big mistake at work?

Yes! I posted something about this a while back. Don't beat yourself up. The best thing to do is to tell your boss before he/she finds out. Admit you made an error and ask what you can do to ameliorate the error. I made a biggie at work a few months ago. It didn't cost money, but it was something my publisher pulled from an article because the statement printed could upset several people. Well, the wrong version got printed and my boss was indeed in trouble with a few people...he had to make nice and I felt just awful. In these situations, I feel that if you take the blame and don't pass the buck, you are more respected. BTW, at my job, I have created a system to avoid the wrong, unedited version of something being picked up by our printing company; I'm sure you can create something to avoid a mistake in the future. And still sometimes, there's nothing we can do...except say: it happens!

and PS: when my DH was a trader at the NYSE...he has come home in near tears about one or two million-dollar errors due to an accidental strike of a key. Hang in there!

Message edited 1/4/2008 12:10:17 PM.

Re: have you ever made a big mistake at work?

Re: have you ever made a big mistake at work?

If it is something that will cost them money,,,I would speak to them about it first. Before they find it out from someone else. You never know. A new year may mean a new attitude from your boss

Re: have you ever made a big mistake at work?

Re: have you ever made a big mistake at work?

that it works out for you.

Re: have you ever made a big mistake at work?

We all make mistakes - Be proactive about it and go to him, rather than waiting for him to come to you about it -
Can you come up with some suggestions for how to fix the current problem? Or possibly improve the procedures for handling whatever it is that you were doing that caused the mistake?

Re: have you ever made a big mistake at work?

Posted by Ophelia

everyone makes mistakes.

there is nothing wrong with you if you do.

go in to damage control mode. be upfront with your boss. tell him what happened, and what if anything can be done to fix it.

be proactive. dont' wait for him to berate your for it or worse.

and no matter what remember, mistakes are something we ALL make. don't kill yourself over it.

Re: have you ever made a big mistake at work?

You need to go and speak with your manager right now and be upfront. I wouldn't mention that you're stressed or overworked...but I would let them know ASAP about the mistake as they may be able to correct it.

Re: have you ever made a big mistake at work?

we all make mistakes, I've made a few...

tell your boss before he finds out on his own, if you're afraid of how he'll react, perhaps you could talk to another supervisor-someone that is a higher rank then you, but not necessarily over his head, and then you go could go together to tell your boss.

Re: have you ever made a big mistake at work?

we all make mistakes...........I would consider bringing to his attention before he finds out from someone else...I think it looks better that you recognized your error and want to rectify asap...GL

Re: have you ever made a big mistake at work?

Posted by pinkiegirl

Posted by Ophelia

everyone makes mistakes.

there is nothing wrong with you if you do.

go in to damage control mode. be upfront with your boss. tell him what happened, and what if anything can be done to fix it.

be proactive. dont' wait for him to berate your for it or worse.

and no matter what remember, mistakes are something we ALL make. don't kill yourself over it.

ITA!
The best thing is to just fess up now, and come up with a strategy to fix what you did wrong, or a strategy to prevent it from happening again if it can't be fixed!

Don't worry, it will all work out!

Re: have you ever made a big mistake at work?

YES! I made a BIG boo-boo at my last job that didn't cost my company money, but it cost my supervisor, who is commission only, money. I went in and told her of the mistake... I was visibly upset, but held it together until afterwards... she was understanding but super annoyed. Just remember, EVERYONE MAKES MISTAKES.

Re: have you ever made a big mistake at work?

I agree, own your mistake, try to fix it and assure them you're going to take measures so that it doesn't happen again.

I once spread a computer virus to my company of thousands. A mistake made worse is that I'm in I.T. If anyone should have known better, it was me.

I hope you get over it soon, don't be too hard on yourself.

Re: have you ever made a big mistake at work?

Re: have you ever made a big mistake at work?

6 or 7 years ago I was working for a direct marketing company until I found something in my field. Well I was inputting the zip codes for where the mailing would be sent based on demographics and such...well a zip code got typed in wrong and no one caught the error and the mailing went to the wrong state and wrong demo.

Lots of $$$$$ lost there! I felt awful but there are or should be systmes to catch things like this. No one died as a result so I thought we would be ok!

In my group now, one of my direct reports made a big error sending trainers to the wrong city for the wrong client. So not only did we pay for travel expenses that were not billable...there was no one there to train a client on a product that was going live in a week!!Ohhh they felt so bad...stuff happens...its how you come through it!

to you...you will get through it. Be honest about it and put a plan together to deal with the issue.

Message edited 1/4/2008 12:33:21 PM.

Re: have you ever made a big mistake at work?

Posted by Ophelia

everyone makes mistakes.

there is nothing wrong with you if you do.

go in to damage control mode. be upfront with your boss. tell him what happened, and what if anything can be done to fix it.

be proactive. dont' wait for him to berate your for it or worse.

and no matter what remember, mistakes are something we ALL make. don't kill yourself over it.

Re: have you ever made a big mistake at work?

Posted by pinkiegirl

Posted by Ophelia

everyone makes mistakes.

there is nothing wrong with you if you do.

go in to damage control mode. be upfront with your boss. tell him what happened, and what if anything can be done to fix it.

be proactive. dont' wait for him to berate your for it or worse.

and no matter what remember, mistakes are something we ALL make. don't kill yourself over it.

ITA!
The best thing is to just fess up now, and come up with a strategy to fix what you did wrong, or a strategy to prevent it from happening again if it can't be fixed!

Don't worry, it will all work out!

Re: have you ever made a big mistake at work?

Here's a chuckle for you's:

I gave one of my customers bad news about their shipment via e-mail and she came back with "Bomber" (I'm guessing she was going for "bummer"....
I found this so amusing that I forwarded the e-mail to one of my friends saying "Look what this ******* wrote when I gave her some bad news, lmao, I feel like replying and asking her "Bomber?!?!?! WHERE?!?!?" lol
Well I hit reply instead of forward, and the news got back to my boss.....oh boy was I in trouble! I've only been on the job less than a month, and needless to say I got fired.

Re: have you ever made a big mistake at work?

Posted by Ophelia

everyone makes mistakes.

there is nothing wrong with you if you do.

go in to damage control mode. be upfront with your boss. tell him what happened, and what if anything can be done to fix it.

be proactive. dont' wait for him to berate your for it or worse.

and no matter what remember, mistakes are something we ALL make. don't kill yourself over it.

Re: have you ever made a big mistake at work?

Posted by Ophelia

everyone makes mistakes.

there is nothing wrong with you if you do.

go in to damage control mode. be upfront with your boss. tell him what happened, and what if anything can be done to fix it.

be proactive. dont' wait for him to berate your for it or worse.

and no matter what remember, mistakes are something we ALL make. don't kill yourself over it.

Re: have you ever made a big mistake at work?

Everyone's advice here is great. I agree with everything. The one thing I would add, is to make sure not to become defensive if your boss does get angry and upset. Even if you are the one that goes to him.

If one of my employees makes a mistake and comes to me about it I may be upset, but if they come to me and get defensive about it even though they brought it up to me, it irks me and I feel the need to drive home just how bad a mistake it was instead of getting right to the point and fixing it.