# Have you ever messed up at work?



## AngelClare (Jul 10, 2012)

I had this major project at work. I've been stressed about it all summer. We released this week and it's been nothing but problems. It's really my fault. There are testing scenarios that I didn't consider. Anyway, it's a big mess.

I think with SA there is this heightened fear of judgment. I feel like I want to runaway or quit before I get fired. This kind of thing is really my worst fear.

Has anyone else ever f**d up at work and survived the stress of feeling judged or blamed?


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## 812161 (Oct 8, 2016)

I sense you're in IT, like me?

And yes, I've messed up before too...so bad, it cost the company a couple days of productivity and that was with having backup files. I had to explain it to the CEO. They took it better than I thought, considering that I was honest and also had an approach for the company to follow.

Bottom line, you can often survive any problem by just showing that you're owning it and working towards a solution. The worst is just cratering from it and expecting everyone else to save you.


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## sadshatteredsoul (Oct 13, 2016)

Yes I am currently facing extreme struggles and difficulties at my place of work ... I was pulled into the the Supervisor's office today and told that the deparment staff find me to be rude and that I interrupt and don't listen well and have bad telephone manner ... I have had all of this happen to me by the same people who are accusing me but of course that will never be taken into account simply because 'it's me' ... What hit me like a brick was when she stated that too with laugh "Now I'm not sure how you guys are like at home" ... I really wanted to stop here here and say "Please don't bring my family into this, it's not about them, it's about me, they are good people" because they have only taught me good things but all I could do was nod my head with a little smile on face because the social anxiety paralyzed me ... I always freeze and to this day have never been able to defend myself ... I have been a punching bag for people to vent and take their anger out then get the occasional apology because "they were having a bad day" ... I guess I am not viewed as a human being ... I have been like living dead today and my head pounds from the depression, anxiety, and stress ... God have mercy on my soul


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## nubly (Nov 2, 2006)

Yea, but I'm in a field that people understand 'to err is human'.


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## Kevin001 (Jan 2, 2015)

Yes all the time. I screwed up at the register several times, I've screwed up with surveillance a few times at my other job. I mean I know people talk about me but whatever.


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## 812161 (Oct 8, 2016)

sadshatteredsoul said:


> Yes I am currently facing extreme struggles and difficulties at my place of work ... I was pulled into the the Supervisor's office today and told that the deparment staff find me to be rude and that I interrupt and don't listen well and have bad telephone manner ... I have had all of this happen to me by the same people who are accusing me but of course that will never be taken into account simply because 'it's me' ...


This makes me sad...and it is upsetting. It's the natural order of human nature, though, in groups. There's always someone that gets selected to be the scapegoat of the group.

And it is more frustrating when you turn around and see members of the complaining party behaving the same way and get away with it.

I feel like I end up in this position a lot, too. Hugs


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## sausage (Oct 30, 2016)

AngelClare said:


> I had this major project at work. I've been stressed about it all summer. We released this week and it's been nothing but problems. It's really my fault. There are testing scenarios that I didn't consider. Anyway, it's a big mess.
> 
> I think with SA there is this heightened fear of judgment. I feel like I want to runaway or quit before I get fired. This kind of thing is really my worst fear.
> 
> Has anyone else ever f**d up at work and survived the stress of feeling judged or blamed?


I couldn't work in programming for those very reasons. It is repetitive, boring and too complicated. Way too much stress.

I have walked out of call centre work in the past. I gave in too easily but at the same time I couldn't be ****ed with it. It's all BS.

I would look for work that maybe utilizes your skills but in a different career. Like industrial engineering.


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## LookOutTheWindow (May 15, 2015)

I've messed up constantly at every job I've ever had, I get too nervous to do a good job and quit my last one. So you're not alone, but you seem like a reasonable fellow. I'm sure you'll be fine, people aren't going to judge you that much as long as you try to learn from your mistakes.


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## AngelClare (Jul 10, 2012)

EverNoob said:


> I sense you're in IT, like me?
> 
> And yes, I've messed up before too...so bad, it cost the company a couple days of productivity and that was with having backup files. I had to explain it to the CEO. They took it better than I thought, considering that I was honest and also had an approach for the company to follow.
> 
> Bottom line, you can often survive any problem by just showing that you're owning it and working towards a solution. The worst is just cratering from it and expecting everyone else to save you.


Wow, you had to explain it to the CEO?

Yes, I'm in IT. I write software for an investment bank. If I mess up then people can't do their work. 
I've already had to patch this release 3 times in one week.

I'm more worried that there will be more problems next week. They'll ask why I released something so poorly tested.

Well it's because they have made it impossible to test with real production data. They've put in so many restrictions to prevent us from seeing insider information. But none of the stupid restrictions actually prevent us from getting around them if we wanted. It just makes everything harder and code impossible to test.

This project is not originally mine. The guy who created it wanted more money so they let him go and dumped it on me. This dude wrote some crazy unmanageable code.

Then they slashed QA staff so badly that nothing is properly tested.

They keep cutting corners but expect quality not to suffer.

Regardless, it's my responsibility. I should have demanded the release date be pushed back due to insufficient testing.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Jpatter (Dec 20, 2016)

Im a **** up in general. The reason you fear judgement from others is because you already have ****ed up thoughts about yourself.


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## Zero Escape (Mar 7, 2015)

I messed up at work just today. Unfortunately, my errors can have an impact on employee compensation. I work in sales administration and sometimes make mistakes with quota setting and account coding assignments. This can lead to commissions being paid incorrectly, which involves a phone call with multiple managers (including my own). I also need to pull in finance and payroll to finalize the correction. It is extremely embarrassing. I have tried to ask people to review my work before I submit and they say they do BUT I don't think they are actually looking it over. Truthfully it is not their responsibility, but I wish they would say no instead of letting me think my process is correct. This creates a more significant issue when I find out later I was not doing my work correctly, making it much more difficult to implement a fix.

It's also worth noting that everyone in all work environments make mistakes. I have always worked in a payroll/commission based role and have seen many. In my case, someone's personal paycheck will always cause a fire drill. I think the reason people like you and I can sometimes magnify the severity of our errors is because of how visible the errors are. In your case, I’m assuming you were involved in a system design/implementation for specific users. If so, this makes it difficult to fix quietly since people need to report the bugs to you in order for an update to occur. Whereas someone who was making accounting entries incorrectly may have less people that actually see the error (this may be a bad example, just thinking off the top of my head). You may also find users to be impatient because they do not know how much work goes into a system/process roll out. And of course with social anxiety the process of speaking to coworkers is stressful, especially when the topic brings your quality of work into question. It sounds like you are aware of the issue and will take the necessary steps to make things right. I know it isn’t easy, but as long as you take responsibility and learn from your oversight you should gain respect in the long run. Maybe right now it doesn’t seem like it, but that has been my experience.

I am giving you details so you can see that these things happen to everyone...sometimes critical errors and sometimes small goofs. You are certainly not alone!


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## 0blank0 (Sep 22, 2014)

Hasn't everyone hehe


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## 0blank0 (Sep 22, 2014)

Jpatter said:


> Im a **** up in general. The reason you fear judgement from others is because you already have ****ed up thoughts about yourself.


That's some realness right there


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## Twilightforce (Aug 7, 2016)

Use to but I train people now. You're not the only one. I seen many people come to work and mess up.


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## chaoticgalaxy (Dec 23, 2016)

When I first started working in a salon, I screwed up all the time. ON CLIENTS.
Super embarrassing and frustrating. But you live, learn and move on


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## Gorgoroth9 (Jul 4, 2016)

All the time, and my clique at work (surprised I have one) have a web chat where they gossip and b-tch about coworkers f-cking up behind their backs. I know their criticism doesn't stop at me, but since I'm part of the chat they don't tell me directly whatever they must think of my work. They're the kind of people that gossip about everything and everyone, so I know I wouldn't be spared. Plus my boss jokingly calls other coworkers useless all the time. So I'm constantly feeling like I'm being judged, even though criticisms are seldom explicit -_-


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

Yes, sometimes I miss things and no one else catches the error either for a long while. Usually I catch my own errors but occasionally my supervisors would. So embarrassing. 

Stupid errors. I think to myself, "how could I have missed that?" I keep all sorts of lists and checklists to make sure I don't overlook anything but ......it still happens..... I try to be methodical but yeah, I'm far from being a perfectionist that's for sure.


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## ravens (Aug 31, 2011)

I can't think of anything but then it's hard to mess up carrying blocks or bricks or making mortar.


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## acidicwithpanic (May 14, 2014)

I ended up having an anxiety attack at work as a result of not getting one important thing done on time. Luckily, my boss didn't fire me over that slip-up.


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## Shadow2009 (Sep 25, 2010)

I've messed up in every job I've had.

I remember my retail manager going CRAZY at me and yelling at me in front of all the staff because I messed up and covered up the barcodes on DVD's (the area you scan on the item at the checkout) haha. I also got a ton of slack there because I was too slow or I was unable to properly fold/open things (I have bad hand coordination, I guess). I think the staff were relieved when I left.

I also frequently said stupid **** to customers when I worked in call centres and basically winged it and improvized as I spoke even though there were scripts in front of me.


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

At my very first job....I was hired at this gaijin bar in Japan. In the beginning I was only given grunt work, no making drinks. So I was responsible for cleaning and a little bit of cooking, like simple stuff, french fries, small pizzas. The cleaning part was fine. The cooking part on the other hand....So the guy would tell me how to make things. I attempted to write this all down in my notebook but he shooed my notebook away saying that I don't need it. Well....I did....I kept forgetting things and the order of how to do stuff. My boss was exasperated. 

I don't know why some people just assume you have the same memory as they do, so tell you to not write anything down. 


Anyways, I only stayed there for a month or so. I found a better paying job. 

I remember the boss guy told me to only give ketchup (with the fries) to foreign customers, not to Japanese customers.


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