To ask you about the worst mistake you've made at work?

[800caloriesofwine]

Terrible, terrible day.
Please tell me the worst mistakes you've made in the workplace.
Mine were sending £6,000 of dental implants to the wrong dentist, two days before they were due to be placed in someone's mouth.
Also writing the wrong patient down as dead.

[Merryoldgoat]

I paid someone their entire annual salary one month 👍🏽

[FudgeBrownie2019]

I once sent an email to the whole company outlining my terrible, terrible hangover, including details of the nuclear waste which was coming from my back end.

I got such a bollocking.

[800caloriesofwine]

This is honestly making me feel so much better

[Numptywallice]

Having a relationship with someone 15 years my senior. He wasn’t married or have children but had a wonderful way of eroding my self esteem.

[Dk20]

@Merryoldgoat did you realise straight away, or did they come back to you and tell you?

[Noidea2114]

Pressed the wrong button and cleared all banking details for managers and above. The day before pay day.

[TheLightSideOfTheMoon]

Looking after an elderly lady in a care home. She'd been unwell.

She'd perked up and had had a good day, but went to bed early.

Her daughter phoned to speak to her. I said she was asleep, but was feeling better, could daughter call in the morning because I didn't want to wake her up. (She'd slept horrendously throughout illness - she was exhausted).

Yup. Died during the night. Was about 20 years ago and I still feel like shit.

I was young and inexperienced. I soon learnt about the 'surge'.

[QuestionableMouse]

I flooded half my store. Accidentally left the mop sink running. Came back to two inches of soapy water.

Took bloody ages to mop up but luckily my boss had done pretty much the same the week before and thought it was hilarious.

[Merryoldgoat]

@Dk20

I realised almost instantly. It was a series of issues, some of my making, some not that led to it. But people make mistakes.

I went to tell my manager, explained, told her I’d fix it and I did. The bank managed to recall the payment and I sent to correct amount. The payee never received the full amount.

I felt like a total twat.

[itchyfinger]

I was doing a very formal presentation at a huge conference. I thought it was my turn to present, walked up on stage and started talking only for someone to wave me off. It wasnt my turn. I had to go and sit back at my table, and then go and present after the correct person had finished

[Oblomov20]

I did payroll for an accountancy firm. My boss gave me a clients April's payroll instead of May. I didn't notice. I paid them the same as they'd had the month before. I got sacked for gross misconduct.

[Ohffs66]

I accidentally sent an unencrypted spreadsheet containing all the board directors personal information (full name, NI number, home address, salary etc) to a random email address. I worked for a very large FTSE 100 household name company. For 3 days I literally couldn't eat or sleep, I was terrified I'd lose my job or worse. In the end the email address was tracked down to an unmanned mailbox at a publishing company in France and our head of IT security was able to get a confirmation that they had deleted it without looking at it. I didn't get into trouble because I'd followed the correct data breach policy and reported it, but boy was I absolutely terrified!!

[Ruth2009]

I was a community carer and I had a new patient one evening.
I went to the wrong address and put the wrong old lady to bed
In the morning I realised and I had to ring the one I missed to apologise luckily I got away with it

[Microwaveoven]

Burnt down the kitchen at the bowling alley I worked in. Technically not my fault as it was a faulty dishwasher but I did feel very guilty! The whole bowling alley and adjoined cinema had to be evacuated. Lots of people half way through a film.

[Crystaltree]

I've made tons. In my first work experience in a provincial solicitors aged 16 I started well by setting the franking machine wrong and sending hundreds of letters out with £18 postage on each one instead of 18p. I didn't confess, rationalising that people think solicitors letters are a rip off anyway so they probably wouldn't complain. Never any come back.

There used to be a reddit thread about this which is worth looking up, if you want to make yourself feel better. There was some poor kid who flooded the town library with the entire contents of the swimming pool further up the hill. Also something to do with radiation I seem to remember.

[Merryoldgoat]

@Oblomov20

Fired? I’m so sorry. I’m sure you could have fixed that. Sounds like a nasty place to work.

[zippyswife]

I replied to my then client that he was a complete nightmare. I had meant to forward it on to a college. Fortunately he found the funny side.

I proof read something carefully but had neglected to properly proofread the cover. The title had a massive error. I had sent 300,000 copies to print. They had to be binned. Fortunately my boss liked me.

[mrsbyers]

I once recosted every piece of stock over night on New Year’s Eve - except I multiplied everything by a thousand , a lot of work has involved in reversing our transactions between then and when office staff returned and I spotted it

Oh and I sent an email about the office bike having a knee trembler with the elderly owner in his office and how disgusted I was - to her

[zippyswife]

@Ruth2009 i love that 🤣

[zippyswife]

As a police officer I turned up at a domestic not having been appraised of the circumstances. Having met both parties I referred to the male as being the victims son. He was her boyfriend. That was awkward.

[snowybean]

I accidentally sent a "test email" to 324,000 customers on the same afternoon as our Christmas party. Everyone else was boozing up and being merry, while me and my manager were trying to stop the emails from going out.

I also ordered 1,019 copies of 'If on a Winter's Night a Traveller' by Italo Calvino. I meant to order 9 or 10 copies but somehow typed in 1,019.

[Crystaltree]

@FudgeBrownie2019 my friend worked in a large and formal national institution and accidentally sent a sexting email meant for her boyfriend to the all users list.

[JesusInTheCabbageVan]

I have a theory that @FudgeBrownie2019 was the recipient of @Merryoldgoat's salary error, hence the hangover.

[QueenOfCatan]

Set fire to the roof. It was a house in the middle of nowhere. Luckily the cleaner saw it 🙈

[Jubaju]

Accidentally paid 650k to the wrong account 🤦🏻‍♀️