To be worried mistakes at work will cost my job?

[Kendra43]

I'll start by asking I'm burned out and going on holiday for a week this weekend.

I started a new job 4 months ago. Everything was going well and I had a great end of probationary meeting where the boss said she was 'very happy' with my work. I moved jobs because I wanted a better salary and new challenges.

Last week I made a couple of small mistakes, a typo in one email and scheduled a meeting at the wrong time in another. My first errors. She brought these up in our 1 to 1 this week, asking if I'm ok and saying we need to work on improving it after my holiday.

Today I sent an email to an important client and forget to attach something. I caught it in time/sent the file quickly and when I looked at Teams she had already messaged telling me I hadn't attached the document. I told her I had already rectified it and she said 'I messaged you telling you before you rectified it'.

I get the feeling she is very annoyed with me and I'm upset about being pulled up over small mistakes and for making them. AIBU?

If she noticed and told you before you sent it it sounds like she is micro managing you and checking up on you.

She sounds like a nightmare. Do you know why the person you replaced left?

Those are pretty minor mistakes & not something would even be picked up in my workplace, I wouldn't worry unduly. But maybe take a breath before sending things and do a quick double check before you send.

As a manager, those things are small issues on the surface.

I would not even bother mentioning the typo unless you’d materially changed the meaning of important information.

Burned out after 4 months is a bit of a red flag - what’s the source of all this stress?

What kind of work do you do? Sending e-mails with typos, forgetting to attach documents and mixing up meeting times happens all the time where I work (Tech company) and no-one bats an eyelid. These sound like minor issues. It seems she is tracking your every move if she spotted the missing attachment which is not a good sign.

A typo in an email is a mad thing to pull someone up on unless it made the email meaningless or confusing.

If your work overall is good and these are small errors amidst good performance, I'd be amazed if she'd be bothered firing you and starting recruitment again.

I'd just tell her you're looking forward to coming back from leave refreshed after a busy few months. Definitely focus on your attention to detail when you get back but really it doesn't sound like grounds for firing.

These are common, small mistakes and I'm sure many working in an administration role has made the same mistakes at some point. I know I have and my manager wouldn't even know.

She sounds petty to be bringing them up in your 1:1 and sounds like a micro manager.

How does she know? Is she asked to be copied into everything you send?

Very minor and normal errors.

Why are you burned out after just four months though?

Doesn't sound like a healthy work relationship or environment.

I left a job because of a manager like her! Nit picking, micromanaging, kust genuinely being a pain in the arse....
You have to ask yourself how they have the time to behave like this, perhaps they make these look busy whilst doing very little (how had she even read your email so quickly!)
Get out anyway, this won't get better

Sorry but sending 1/2 the info and putting the wrong date on a meeting aren’t small mistakes

I work for a company which is super hot on things like spelling and presentation and is prone to micromanagement but even at my place these things would be considered trivial.

It sounds incredibly anal and micro-managy.

I would try not to overthink it though. I can’t believe any of this is career limiting.

Depends if the typo was something like changing curt for cunt, or tuck for fuck?!

Otherwise it all seems fairly minor and you have a boss from hell!

Is it not? The truth is my previous company wouldn't blink at this sort of thing and I'm starting to worry I've made a mistake in leaving. Even though the salary is better.

And I didn't send half the info. I sent a detailed report and forgot to attach one thing. I have said it was a mistake.

I think it depends on the type of work and the scale. I worry there's more to this than OP hasn't shared.

I think I'm burned out because leaving my old job/the handover/prep was exhausting then I was meant to have a holiday before new job.

During that holiday I caught covid so I was ill the whole time and never got the time to regroup.

The job is also very intense.

Minor, but you surely should not be making these mistakes. How many have gone through unnoticed? Can you work a little more carefully or is it very high pressured?

This is a normal day at work where I work! For everyone from the apprentices to the senior managers.

Typos are overlooked and someone forgets to attached something they either send immediate with a “whoops” message or they send it when they get nudged.

You’re only human!

When she said 'I messaged you telling you before you rectified it', I would take that to mean 'ignore, I sent this before you sorted it' rather than 'you only rectified it because I told you'.

Ive also never been in a job where a manager is saying we need to improve this. I'm usually an exemplary employee that makes an occasional error.

I'm worried the job isn't the right fit. But overall I just want to make it work now.

Oh maybe!

Are these emails to external clients?

Yes I think this. In some jobs it would be fine. If you're trying to impress clients though it seems sloppy and I can understand your boss wanting it right first time.

Obviously we don't know her but it's the sort of message I would send. To me, it is acknowledging your response whilst also confirming no further action needed. I would usually put a smiley face or something on it though, just to make sure the receiver understood the tone.

Edited due to horrific spelling, probably still missed bits. My phone is rubbish and I'm exhausted 🤣🤣

I once send an email to an important client and finished it off as Retards instead of Regards. My boss, who was copied in to the email, saw the funny side of my embarrassment.

Typos and forgetting to attach a document is something that just happens. I would want to be picked up on it as a criticism.

I am working with someone who makes these sort of mistakes constantly eg schedule in wrong time zone, sends an email to Laura addressing her as Lisa etc. these are not minor but show a lack of attention to detail and leave a bad impression on clients. Don’t do things rushed but double-check what you send and do. In my current org these sorts of mistakes are a big deal.