Had an embarrassing moment in a new job

[fuckoffjournalists]

Had an embarrassing moment in a new job and I can’t stop beating myself up about it. Essentially I conveyed the wrong message from the big boss as a no to a more experienced established colleague who was quite disappointed by it, talked it through with them and then found out I had completely misunderstood, it wasn’t a no at all. Please share your most memorable embarrassing moments so I can get a grip and stop beating myself up about what an idiot I looked 😣.

Oh, where do I start ...?

• Addressed email to Very Important Director as "Hi [his surname - I thought it was his first name ...]
• Addressed my manager as "dad" ... in a client meeting
• Accidentally propositioned another Very Important Director by the means of unfortunate phrasing; he still always flirts with me when I see him but has, luckily, never propositioned me back ...
• Vented to a colleague that "Luke" was a lazy, incompetent prick with an ego the size of an elephant ... yes, "Luke" was standing right behind me
• Broke three laptops in the span of one month - the IT guy calls me a "regular"
• Complained to Facilities Management about the broken coffee machine - because I didn't realise I needed to switch it on
• ... and many, many more!

I still work there. Love my colleagues and it's mostly mutual. Even "Luke" still speaks to me.

It's not that bad!

I once accidentally invited the entire company to a business network that had just been set up (Yammer). Cue lots of messages asking me what it was and why had I invited them. For years which shows how often people check their emails

@MsIreneWinters

I was working for one of the senior directors. On my first day he put his head round my door and said "coffee?". I replied, "yes please, white no sugar". It took me about 10 minutes to work out he was asking me to make one for him To be fair he did bring me my drink though!

Perfect! On your first day he SHOULD be offering you coffee!

I bet he hesitated to ask you to make him a cuppa

@cherrytree63

Working in a lab and was processing some samples which had come packed in dry ice. I didn't know the correct way to dispose of it so chucked it in the sink. And turned the hot tap on to melt it. Oops

Some of us aren't chemists...? What happened?

My new job last year I went to the first team meeting since joining, I realised half way through my top was on back to front, I nipped to the toilet after to turn it round and when I came out realised I'd used the mens loos! The whole team were stood in the corridor and had watched me do it

2nd day into a new window dressing/display job for a large upmarket boutique with beautiful curved bay front windows around the beautifully ornate door... I was 19, I knocked a manikin flying at the back of the widow, set off a domino effect that ended with another manikin diving head first through a beautiful curved windows & shattering it I just froze.

The manageress & deputy gave me a round of applause & then told me not to worry, the window has been loose since the last big storm & the insurance would only cover it if it was actually broken,so I'd done them a favour as far as they were concerned. I was there for another 3 years. It was a lovely place to work. How the company responds will say a lot.

I've ran departments too. Mistakes happen, owning that mistake, how you deal with it & that you learn from it, are what's important... that & not doing it again & again of course

First week in a new job in 2020. I was on a zoom call, still in my pyjama bottoms, t-shirt and dressing gown. (we have a work culture where no-one is expected to turn their camera on for calls)

The reason I was still in my nightwear is chronic ill health…one of the symptoms is hot flushes and random sweating.

I had one on this call. It was awful. I removed the dressing gown and sat there in my t-shirt. Still too hot.

Opened a window, drank some water. Still too hot.

Eventually I took the t-shirt off and fanned myself with it.

Put the t-shirt down and realised I’d somehow turned my camera on. No idea when.

I turned it off, put my dressing down back on and curled up into a little ball, like this would help. Hyperventilating. Genuinely thought I’d have to leave the job.

No-one’s ever mentioned it, even as a joke. Maybe my boobs are less memorable than I think they are

I was WFH on zoom and asked to attend an important client call to explain some technical issues. It was very short notice and I grabbed a black dress, took my scruffy top off and put the dress on to look smarter for the client. I later realise that I'd changed on camera. Luckily I did a good job of explaining to the client and no one mentioned the on camera top change in the wash up session.

@DaphneduWarrior 🤣🤣 this reminds me of a work zoom call I was on last year where someone’s camera came on mid way through, capturing her in her dressing gown walking out the kitchen door with a fag (door was directly behind her seat) and we were like “hello we can see you!” And the poor woman froze and then had to turn around and pretend she was just stretching her legs and sit back down to the call in her dressing gown 🤣

@Allsorts1 - honestly, if you can style out that sort of thing, the usual work shit (dull meetings, annual appraisals etc) can’t touch you

I once left a 70's male nude playing card in the ledgers of an accountancy firm I worked at. These were the days when we had large red ledger books to record expenditure. My boss found it and left on my desk. He was not best pleased

@JillFromHolt
"I fainted into my bosses arms on my first day at a new job. Now that was embarrassing!"

Please explain 😂

I couldn't find the on button for the PC, so found something else I could press. It was a self destruct button which literally burnt out the hard drive. I now provide IT support to a number of teams, and am never judgemental as a result.

First day of temping and I dropped a big pile of files. Papers everywhere. The person showing me what to do said not to worry and just started shoving papers into files haphazardly.

But clearly no one higher had found out because I finished my temp contract and then was asked back again later.

Mistakenly told a male patient wife that her husband had died.
He was very much alive.
Then had to accompany her to the casualty dept for five stitches in her head, where she split it open due to her fainting with the shock of her husband dying, when he had only been admitted for surgery on a badly broken arm.
Oh how we laughed and laughed and laughed..........😭

First week of my new job. I got up from my desk to use the printer, but had been sitting with my legs crossed and my right foot had gone to sleep. I was wearing heels and as soon as I stood up my right ankle buckled and I stacked it, falling into a metal filing cabinet behind my desk which made a huge bang. Worst of all I couldn’t get back up because my foot was still numb so I just had to sit there awkwardly while everyone stared at me!

@AllKindsOfWrong Omg you win!

But I love this thread!! Everyone's stories are hilarious 😂

I walked into work in a new skirt suit I'd brought. When I was in the canteen someone walked over and let me know I had not taken the price tag off the suit. I had a huge price tag hanging down my back.

Too many to recount but…

Fallen off a chair reaching for something
Top fell open without me realising and I flashed my bra
Took someone else’s coat thinking it was mine (first week)

I could go on. I’m un-embarassable these days - life’s too short. I do daft things. Say daft things. Forget things. Misunderstand things. But also do lots of good things and mostly do my job well. I’m human. We are all human.

My first day in my first full time job.
I was 18, very very nervous, skint so wearing very cheap polyester clothes and it was a hot summer day.
My boss was teaching me how to use the phone system/what to say on different calls etc.
I just remember him saying ‘I can see you’re nervous as the phone is wet’.
I was sweating profusely all over the handset which was slippery. Funnily enough, him pointing it out didn’t help me to feel any more relaxed.

@AllKindsOfWrong brilliant