How To Come Back From A Mistake At Work

There are those mistakes at work where your boss would slap you on the wrist gently for, and there are those that make him want to ban you from the country altogether. How do you handle going even going back to work after that? Assuming you didn’t get fired for doing such a blunder, how are you going to face your boss the next day? The rest of your colleagues, how will you still have the guts to stay in their presence for a whole 8 hours straight knowing they know about the blunder you made?

How can you come back from a huge mistake at work?

You acknowledge it

There is nothing worse than pretending it didn’t happen or pretending as if the blunder wasn’t yours. You own up to your mistakes, okay? You are an adult so you should be mature enough to realise that what’s your fault is definitely your fault. Don’t put the blame on other things and people. Since it was your responsibility, you own up to it like a man instead of coming up with excuses and being defensive all about it. Stop thinking about your pride. If you really need to calm down before getting angry for something you YOURSELF clearly did, then go outside and calm yourself down by breathing in and out. Look at trees. Stop panicking and think rationally instead of thinking with your emotions. Use empathy and see yourself in their shoes.

You apologise and you keep that apology simple

If you are genuine about it, then don’t make up excuses. Don’t repeat your apology and don’t overdo it by trying to make up for it. Keep it simple by saying “I’m sorry, I made a mistake”. Don’t force yourself on them either, and going all out on your apology. If you have acknowledged that you made a mistake, then give them time to be angry and be professional if they can’t forgive you. Keep a business mind at all times.

You accept the consequences in stride

You know you are going to be punished. Expect it and take it in stride. After all, the blunder was yours. Don’t be angry and saying it’s unfair because you made things unfair for them in the first place. Don’t complain and carry out the tasks as you are told. This will reinforce your apology. Besides, you don’t have the right to complain and whine when all of this was you fault to begin with.

You reflect on the situation

Think about everything that has happened. Once you have calmed down and have hopeful gotten some sleep to relax yourself, do some self-reflection. Think about whether this job is the right one for you and if you’re confident about your skills in this line of work. Look for solutions if there are needs to. One of the solutions might be for you to resign and then look for another job. Do so and start anew but don’t forget about what happened. Let it serve as your lesson.