Back to main page
Are you an employer?
Find a branch
Associates Help
Adecco Canada
français (Canada)

search

Find a job
Please select an auto suggested location.
  • COVID-19
  • How to apply
  • View all jobs
  • Employment resources
  • Blog
Job saved
You can check all your saved jobs here.
You have reached the maximum number of jobs you can save. To save a new job, please remove another you've saved previously.
  • Subscribe to receive updates on Adecco’s Lēad Blog and more!

Take the Lēad

Subscribe to receive updates on Adecco’s Lēad Blog and more!

Please verify captcha Before proceeding.

By providing my email address, I agree to receive commercial electronic messages from The Adecco Group Canada, Adecco, and Roevin, including but not limited to future issues of Lēad Magazine, our annual salary guide, valuable blog content and more. Unsubscribe any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails.

Adecco Employment Services Limited 20 Bay Street, Suite 800, Toronto, ON M5J2N8 Canada 416 646 3322

Share
Back to Blog

Made a mistake at work? Here’s what to do next

Posted on 10-15-2020
Person holding paint roller has painted floor around their own feet: mistakes made at work

Everyone makes mistakes, but your resilience is what determines how you recover. Our practical guide lays out the steps you need to take to own your mistake and move on.

Career advice Job seekers

Legendary business writer and corporate trainer, Dale Carnegie, said that successful people profit from their mistakes and try again differently. Like any good maxim, such advice cuts right to the core, and you know it’s true – or should be true – until the day you actually make a mistake.

On that day, repeating any self-help guru’s sound bites in your head is not likely to fill that pit in your stomach. Making mistakes at work is any employee’s fear, and like any employee, you’re only human and therefore bound to make mistakes. Hence, the first step to learn from your mistakes is accepting that you’ll make them. But what about the nitty-gritty of coping with making mistakes at work?

Here’s a practical guide:

Tell your manager – right away

If you realize you’ve made a mistake at work, don’t delay in telling your supervisor. The longer you wait, the less responsible you’ll look. Own your mistake and make it known to all of the appropriate people.

Apologize – in person – and acknowledge the inconvenience you’ve caused

When you tell your superior(s) about what happened, remember to say you’re sorry both for the mistake and the extra work that needs to be done to correct it. And face your problems figuratively and literally by doing so in person. Hiding behind the phone – or worse, email – will only make you look timid and unable to accept complete accountability – not exactly the feature of a future leader.

Stay calm when delivering the news

Smiling woman looks out window while holding tablet

Now that you know what to say, you need to know how to say it. Chances are your heart will skip a beat once you realize your mistake. That’s exactly the time not to approach your boss. If you enter their office stressed out, you’ll stress them out, which can only amplify the situation. Calm yourself and know that if you remain calm when you break the news, chances are they will too.

Don’t downplay the significance of the mistake

While you need to remain calm when informing people of your mistake, don’t act like it’s no big deal, especially if it is one. If you’re nonchalant about it, your manager and co-workers will wonder if you really understand what you did and whether you’ll continue carelessly making mistakes at work. Make sure you’re calm, but that you also understand the gravity of the situation. That way, your manager won’t respond with a wince-inducing reinforcement of your slip-up. In fact, acting apathetic can easily evoke the opposite of calm in your boss.

Explain, but don’t excuse

Making excuses is childish. Do your best to earnestly explain what happened and why.

Refrain from the blame game

Even more childish than making excuses is trying to blame someone else for your mistake. C’mon: deep down, you know the reason you’re so upset in the first place is because you know it’s your fault. Trying to throw others under the bus will only compound the problem, needlessly diminishing your trustworthiness even further – and consider that maybe, just maybe, your one mistake hasn’t diminished your trustworthiness at all.

Propose a solution and make it happen

If you can think of a way to correct your mistake before bringing it to anyone’s attention, make sure you mention it after you apologize. If it involves working evenings and weekends to get it done, do it. Promptly proposing a solution shows that you’re accountable, proactive, and a problem solver. Sure, you may be solving a problem you caused, but if you do what needs to be done to fix it successfully, you may be seen as someone who’ll know how to fix other problems too.

Accept the consequences

Even if you do everything above correctly, you have to accept that there may still be reprimands for your mistake, formal and/or informal. A formal one could be a written warning, while an informal one could be a loss of trust. Every tip above is crucial to retaining and rebuilding trust, and the newer you are at a place or in a role, the more important it will be for you to re-establish your trustworthiness. If, however, you have a long track record of not messing up, the following and final tip should be especially easy to follow.

Don’t forget, but forgive

You can’t change the past. Learn from your mistake and use that knowledge to create a brighter future. In keeping with Carnegie’s idea, people really do underestimate the value of mistakes. Think: does the error you made really outweigh the fact that you’ll never make it again?
New job. New you.
Right here contact us
Permanent placement Contract work Temporary work

Related Blogs

Digital professional woman working on laptop in a shared workspace
10 in-demand jobs that are actively hiring in 2021
WeBlog.Entry_Innerdetails 

Knowing what skills employers are looking for is important, but knowing what jobs are in demand is what’s really going to help you find employment in 2021. In this blog post, we look at 10 jobs that will be actively hiring throughout the year.

Read more...
Person sitting at desk smiling
How to Use Adecco’s Salary Calculator to Negotiate Your Salary in 2021
WeBlog.Entry_Innerdetails 

Whether you’re thinking about asking for a raise or wanting to negotiate a better job offer, the insider information in Adecco’s 2021 Salary Calculator will help you make an informed decision.

Read more...
Person wearing headset in front of books and laptop
10 essential work skills to be successful in 2021
WeBlog.Entry_Innerdetails 

Get your career on track this year with our insider scoop on the most important skills that employers are looking for in 2021. Whether you’re looking for a new job or a promotion, these are the skills you need to succeed.

Read more...

Add your comment

Please confirm you are human by typing the text you see in this image:

Comments

Categories

  • Corporate social responsibility
    • CEO for One Month
    • Win4Youth
  • Employers
    • Employee relations
    • Workplace trends
  • Job seekers
    • Career advice
    • Hot careers
    • Job search

Tagcloud

  • COVID-19
  • Retention
  • Interviews
  • New job
  • Resume and cover letters
  • Hiring
  • TAG expert talk
  • Recruitment
  • Personal branding
  • Mental health
×
Branch locator
You must use an auto-suggested or Geolocated location value
Search jobs
Industry info

How to apply

  • Why temp works
  • Permanent jobs
  • Corporate careers

Employment resources

What is staffing?

Associate login

Rate & review us

Social

Adecco logo
About us Contact us Newsroom Sitemap Privacy Terms of use Accessibility Permit number AP-2000288
Employer site
© 2021 Adecco Canada