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?

How to tell me you are incompetent without you needing to type another word. Data accuracy is critical in many jobs. Lack of attention to detail is careless and reflects a poor attitude.

Oh honey.

If the op were incompetent or slapdash, surely it would have been an issue in her previous job? Instead, it sounds like she was very highly regarded.

I have to say I’m struggling to think of many scenarios where a typo or the everyday failure to attach a file is evidence of a ‘poor attitude’. Certainly, getting things absolutely spot-on is important for some communications (I’d think badly of an advertisement or piece of legislation with grammatical errors). I send dozens of emails a day and would regard meticulously checking the vast majority of those to be a waste of time and energy. The truly important ones I dedicate more time to or even ask someone else to check before sending out.

I think your post is telling:

‘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 think you are embarrassed and don’t like being ‘told off’. (I write this as someone who likes to think of themselves as a perfectionist and hates making mistakes as I’m my own worst critic.) You’ve made some mistakes - take the rap on the knuckle and move on.

Other posters are accusing your manager of micro-managing but, actually, they are doing what they are paid to do. It can be so embarrassing when someone in your team cocks up. Yours are minor mistakes but there have been a couple. Take this as a sign to pay a bit more attention. If you are stressed/overworked/suffering brain fog, use this opportunity to speak with your manager. It’s better to face things.

From another perspective, my job share is making multiple small mistakes and it’s leading to more stress on me. I have to double check what she’s done and correct her errors. Other staff bypass her and come only to me, increasing my workload. Our line manger should be having a conversation with her, as tough as they might be on both parties.

Have a lovely holiday. Don’t think about work, go back refreshed and move on from this.