# I embarrassed myself at work today!!



## Mary Jayne

I started a new job as an accounting assistant, 2 weeks ago. The training I has was scattered and minimal at best. This week I've been 100% on my own, the person who trained me went on vacation and my boss is also away. I've been making mistakes all week and was told told 'no more' just yesterday. Well today, of course, I make another mistake! A big one! The bank called the vp and I was called into his office while we sorted out the issue. He was not mean but clearly he didn't appreciate my stupid mistake taking time out of his day. After we discovered the solution another co-worker and I worked to correct the issue and I messed it up again!!! By this point I was in full panic mode!! Standing up and pacing, sweating, talking out loud, and saying I was going to have a nervous breakdown and that I should just quit. I couldn't control my anxiety at all. I know at least 5 other people that were around me probably thinks I'm a nut!! Uhh re-living this even while typing is making my heart race. How am I going to face tomorrow. And how an i going to tell my boss on Monday. ... Sorry. I needed an outlet. No one understands social anxiety like the people that suffer from it. Also, HI!! I'm new here... A little stressed, sorry for the poor introduction!


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## leonardess

own your mistakes. just go in to your boss and apologize for the mistakes you made, explain that your training has not been thorough and you did not feel ready to be left on your own to do the job -

i would suggest something to you. something to think about.

don't look at this situation as having SA at all. what it is, is a normal reaction to lacking confidence in your ability to do the job. that's all. I would say _it has nothing to do with being shy. _Instead, it has everything to do with being a bit panicky about not being able to handle the responsibility.

Now, that is not to say you cannot handle your job, that you cannot handle responsibility, or that you will always be like this!!

what it means is, you did not handle that particular situation well. but, you can learn from it and handle it better next time.

the second part of what you can say to your boss is, that you WANT to do a good job, that you WANT better training, so that you can gain the confidence you need to do your job right and make fewer mistakes. That really is the best thing to do in situations like this - what happened was, your mistakes were discovered by others and you had no choice but acknowledge them, but few of us can really step up and admit when we've made a mistake, it's human, but you were cast into a situation where you had no choice but to admit it, and you probably have not had much experience doing that. That's okay, you'll learn in future that it's not that big a deal - everyone makes mistakes. you got flustered though, and so you made more mistakes. next time, take a deep breath and concentrate, focus on what you are doing and ASK QUESTIONS IF YOU NEED TO, about what you are doing.

good luck!


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## Mary Jayne

Thanks for your support! I have no issue owning up to the mistake or any of my mistakes, we all make many in life big and small, we're only human!!.. My boss is aware of all of mistakes I've made this week and that is the reason I'm on thin ice currently. I'm not one to make a mistake and hide it. The problem is, in my office, and I'm sure many others. bosses hide things from their bosses to cover their own butts. In this case I have 3 different bosses all keeping certain things from one another and I've basically involved all three and created a massive ripple effect. My mistakes involve other people's jobs in our office in the uk, so it's a little more than stressful when something is done incorrectly. . The uk boss and the vp(one of my bosses) are at war because they think they're are both incapapable of doing things right. It's a whole crazy cycle that is making my head explode. Trying to make everyone happy while screaming inside that I don't even want to talk to anyone. 
I have had that conversation with my boss alredy, he knows i want to work, learn and do my best. Only now I have to have the same conversation.. again. Hes not going to be pleased. My concern is also that my co-workers think im nuts! Pacing around and saying I'm going to have a nervous breakdown at a new job is not good. Also you mentioned asking questions .. Even my boss doesn't know how to so what I do... 1 person does and she's on vacation...


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## el kanguro

Just take it easy and try not to think about it. 
I used to work at a Dunkin Donuts and on the first day they had me doing everything without any training. It was the morning shift too. I was giving people decaf when they ordered regular, Burning the bagels, forgetting the orders, charging people wrong items, I even shattered a coffee pot. The manager was yelling at me and the shift leader. I was on the verge of tears. I kinda wish I had a breakdown or something because I didn't want to be anywhere near there. So I went home and stressed way too much. How the hell was I going to face my manager and my coworkers? I was thinking of just never going back but the day came and i dragged myself to work. My coworkers were acting normally and they even joked a little with me about the day before. My manager came up to me and told me if I was ready for the morning rush and she pat my back and told me to take it easy. I did somewhat better.
I guess what im trying to say is that people expect a certain level of performance from a new worker. There's no point in stressing over mistakes. I say you should leave your problems at work and go home and read a book, watch a movie or something to keep your mind off of work. Deal with it when you're at your office


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## james10203

Remember you only learn by making mistakes. People who are good at their jobs usually have lots of experience in what they do, which is why on nearly every high paying job advertised it says "experience required". At least you know where you have gone wrong and you won't make the same mistakes again.


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## Miss Imaginary

Ok, for starters you've only been in the job for 2 weeks. The fact that you have been left on your own after such a short period of time is irresponsible of your boss, and reflects just as badly on them as it does on you. You have obviously had a lot to learn in a short period of time and as you said, your training was minimal at best. So even before the anxiety, there were quite a few obstacles in your way!

It doesn't seem like you are getting a lot of support in your role so it seems like you'll have to work at it by yourself. The best thing you can do is as james10203 said, learn from your mistakes. Find out why things went wrong so you'll be better prepared next time. If you can present it this way to your boss too, it'll seem like you are on top of what you need to do.


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## starburst

Mary Jayne said:


> Thanks for your support! I have no issue owning up to the mistake or any of my mistakes, we all make many in life big and small, we're only human!!.. My boss is aware of all of mistakes I've made this week and that is the reason I'm on thin ice currently. I'm not one to make a mistake and hide it. The problem is, in my office, and I'm sure many others. bosses hide things from their bosses to cover their own butts. In this case I have 3 different bosses all keeping certain things from one another and I've basically involved all three and created a massive ripple effect. My mistakes involve other people's jobs in our office in the uk, so it's a little more than stressful when something is done incorrectly. . The uk boss and the vp(one of my bosses) are at war because they think they're are both incapapable of doing things right. It's a whole crazy cycle that is making my head explode. Trying to make everyone happy while screaming inside that I don't even want to talk to anyone.
> I have had that conversation with my boss alredy, he knows i want to work, learn and do my best. Only now I have to have the same conversation.. again. Hes not going to be pleased. My concern is also that my co-workers think im nuts! Pacing around and saying I'm going to have a nervous breakdown at a new job is not good. Also you mentioned asking questions .. Even my boss doesn't know how to so what I do... 1 person does and she's on vacation...


Don't be too hard on yourself if you have just started the job - if you are anxious or nervous you are more likely to make mistakes. You need to learn to control the anxiety (eg the Linden Method).

If they leave you on your own to do the job then they are placing quite a lot of trust in you, and that is a good thing - you get the autonomy to get on with it under your own initiative.

I just had a 2 day work trial recently in a web design company for a developer position, and half way through first day was so stressed I wanted to walk out, so I know what it feels like - my mind went kind of totally blank, the screen went green I didn't even figure out the cable had come loose at the back! I got the job though and I start on Monday so I'm glad I didn't let the anxiety beat me. Stick with it, don't give up when the pressure is on - you could regret it later.


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## RelinquishedHell

I'm sorry OP. It's definitely not fun when your coworkers know you have mental problems.


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## SydKat

That's a tough situation. I started a job about a month ago and I was making so many mistakes that I think my manager started to cut my hours. After about two weeks I told my manager that I'm a slow learner but that I would be an efficient worker once I started to understand the job more. I think that made him ease up a bit, he gave me back some hours and after working 6 days/week for a month I'm finally starting to do some stuff right. The first month or two of a job is always pretty bad (for me anyways) so I say stick with it and see how it goes. I hope things are going better for you!!


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