Work Slip-Ups

We’ve all wished the ground would open up and swallow us after a cringe-making mistake. But that’s small comfort when you’re left feeling like the world’s most useless, most red-faced, soon-to-be-ex employee. However, all is not lost. In fact, success coach and co-author of Your Life Only A Gazillion Times Better (Health Communications), Judy May Murphy believes that, handled properly, slip-ups can actually be a good thing. ‘When you were a child you made lots of mistakes as you tried to find the right way to do things. But every time you messed up, you learnt something important.’

The key to determining what happens next is how you respond, says Manj Weerasekera, success coach and producer of Create The Life Of Your Dreams audio CD. ‘How you apologise and what you’re apologising for determines the outcome, your credibility and work relationships.’

Of course, different mistakes call for different responses. To make sure you don’t dig an even deeper hole for yourself, we’ve identified seven of the most common office screw-ups and come up with career-saving ways to survive them.

Slip-Up #1: E-mailing the person you’re actually ranting about	‘If you know someone has found out, it’s best to be direct and explain why you wanted to keep it a secret,’ says Weerasekera. ‘Invite them for coffee with you both. That way they’re in on it too and will probably help keep it quiet.’ If the whole office knows, go directly to your boss, says Weerasekera. ‘Ask if she’s seen any detrimental effects on your work. A good boss will say no (she’d have picked up on it). Tell her how happy you are at work now and apologise about the secrecy.’ Once it’s out in the open, Murphy advises against flaunting the relationship, instead using the professional office atmosphere to make you both crave each other even more outside work. And making sure you don’t walk into any more meetings with your skirt tucked into your knickers will probably help, too...
Slip-Up #2: An oversight embarrasses your boss or costs your company money
Slip-Up #3: You have a major falling-out with a client
Slip-Up #4: Your boss finds out you’ve applied for another job
Slip-Up #5: Arriving for a meeting with your skirt tucked into your underwear
Slip-Up #6: Letting an ill-advised comment slip out
Slip-Up #7: Your secret office relationship is discovered

Author: Helen McNutt