How to deal with unfolding work nightmare

[Burger223344]

I’ve fucked up and my boss kind of knows.

The full extent and impact of the problems will only become clear to clients week by week over the next 4 weeks and then each week until Christmas

I’ve basically got some numbers wrong and many people have acted on that information and soon they will find out

The knowledge of what I’ve done, what is going to happen and how people will feel let down and unhappy is killing me inside - I can’t sleep, can’t eat, feel sick and panicky all the time. I can’t carry on like this for the next 6 weeks (I think people will see the full extent by then)

What can I do? How do I get this under control? I just want to run away. Please help!

Can it be corrected?

You need to admit it now rather than letting people find out in dribs and drabs.

Can they be told before they discover? Just come clean about the error and anything that can be done to mitigate the consequences ?

People cope better with the truth.

You need to discuss it with your manager as soon as you are back at work. The longer there is to manage the problem, the better. It won’t go away so being upfront is your only solution.

Everyone fucks up occasionally. When a member of my team did, I respected them if they alerted me quickly and helped resolve the situation.

Everyone makes mistakes. Just look at the people running the country!! Mistakes left, right and centre.

Youre feeling this way because you're conscientious. What does your boss say? Is she or he going to support you through this?

Could it be that the impact may be less serious than you fear?

You can't keep quiet and let it "unfold" over the coming months!
That would probably be a sackable offence, failing to do anything at all to try to mitigate it. Own up now.

If it's going to come out, it's better to be the one that tells them, and ideally you'd have a plan to put it right or at least minimise the impact.

Is there any kind of damage control however minor that would help? Mistakes happen. Is there anyone who might have any ideas that you haven't asked yet, re sorting it and limiting the damage? Can 'revised' figures go out asap or is it too late ? Can you say an old 'draft' got issued in error?

You go into work on Monday and outline in detail exactly what the impact will and for how long. You put together a remediation plan if there is one and also explain how it happened. Was there a process breakdown or any issues with data you were working with or was it simply human error.

It can't be undone the only thing you can do now is try to limit the impact as much as possible.

Report it ASAP: far better than waiting for the shit to hit the fan and I am sure you will get credit for your honesty if you admit that you made a mistake.

As above. Own the message of the fuck up. Tell people as soon as possible.

Discuss with your Manager ASAP, so it can be rectified ASAP. It’s always best to be transparent. Everybody makes mistakes.

Forgot: standard practice for **ups in corporates is blame a temp . Ive been a temp, so took a dim view of that at the time, because I was a bloody good one, but needs must, if shits hit the fan ...

I’ve made some huge cock ups in my career. Invariably, the big ones that I lose sleep over tend not to be as bad as I anticipate.

Be upfront and honest. Give people time to manage it. If they just find out by themselves not only will they think you’re incompetent, they’ll also think you lack integrity.

• A fictional temp , not a real one

Agree with others, you must address it immediately on Monday with your boss so the problem can be dealt with now rather than in six weeks time. Even though its shit, it was a mistake and you will feel relieved that you have faced it head on rather than the torturous dread of waiting. As a business owner, I would much rather my staff were upfront and honest about mistakes.

I may even draft the email now if I were you. Its ALWAYS better to lance the boil. The relief is immediate. I'm sorry tho x you've a shit weekend ahead worrying for sure. But planning to admit it will make you feel better I hope.

You aren't responsible for buying turkeys for a major supermarket by chance?

As it stands your manager is probably going to bear the brunt of any fallout. In their position I'd like to find out ASAP rather than have to figure out what's gone wrong over the next few weeks.

You need to sort it out ASAP or come clean as the longer you leave it the worse it will be.

Could you give more details without being outing so MNers can help solve the problem?

What do you mean by your boss kind of knows? They know about the mistake but not the impact? Haven’t they wanted to discuss it with you?

What do you mean your boss 'kind of knows'?

Tell them immediately!!

If anything can be done at all (or even if it can't) they need to know about it.

Rerun the numbers, establish impact on customer basis, go to boss with full impact and proposal for customer communications and an idea of what remediation is required.

Come clean first thing Monday. Tell your boss everything. Then you can begin to put things right and you'll feel better.

Hold your hands up, quickly.
It looks so much better to just go “I’m really sorry, I’ve messed up, I don’t know how it’s happened but....”

“How do we resolve this?”