Huge fuck up today

[HugeFuckUp]

And I’m still on probation. 😭 In my job you have to be signed off by supervisors in different areas before you are allowed to do it alone. Today I completed a task that I have not been signed off on (and completely screwed it up) by mistake. I’ve been signed off to produce designs in area A. I had a request come through for A but with a tiny bit of C. I didn’t realise that C meant it needed to be put through as a new task type. To make it worse one of my fundamental calculations was ever so slightly out so the whole thing is wrong. I have to confess all of this to my boss tomorrow morning. Help!

SNC sounds terrifying. My probation is already 6 months so doubled would make it 12. I think I would be a nervous wreck!
No financial consequences. But would have been for the client had the mistake not been found and rectified.

I think I’m most worried about completing work I wasn’t authorised to do. It was a genuine mistake and I’m mortified. But from their perspective I see how it could be this SNC thing you mentioned.

But would have been for the client had the mistake not been found and rectified.

Focus on that bit. Honestly, I think you'll be okay.

May not help but when I've done something I am not sure of, I think about all the failings of government that ministers just say sorry for and move on and it puts it in perspective. Come clean, apologise, say what you learned. Don't sound too flippant though.

Where is your probation supervisor in all this? Are they still supporting you? It’s good that you’ve taken responsibility and did not shy away from contacting the client and get the right information to them. Ensure you emphasis yes you made a mistake, how and why and how you resolved the issue when you speak with your boss. If different, take your probation supervisor in with you to speak to boss. Is your husband saying contact ex employer to help you feel better? I’d want better support from my partner than to just chuck in the towel!

This what @Lavender14 said it totally right

Best thing you can learn in the workplace is how to take mistakes on the chin without letting them send you into a total spiral. I would start doing damage control.

I find in any job if I make a mistake and start unravelling and going over it and getting more stressed I make several more. I once had probation extended the day before my meeting because of something I did wrong but it was because I unravelled and had a meltdown at my desk. In my review the next day they said I would've passed with flying colours even with the mistake but due to how I handled it I didn't.

Sorry you're stressed OP. I've dealt with quite a few SNCs involving new staff members.

How clear were the instructions you were given about not completing this type of task without training/assistance? Is there anything in writing/in a training manual?

Well, looks like the place you work for have a well-thought-through checks and balances system!

Seriously OP, it is what it is. Speak to your boss in the morning. Say what you've said here, the bit about how you realised the mistake you made, apologised immediately, thankfully no harm done, you've seen for yourself why the company has the checks and balances itself and obviously you won't be making the same mistake again. DON'T say anything about your emotional state and you berating yourself blah blah. Then, take whatever happens on the chin. Lessons learned. Only you know what your thought process was when you did what you did, so only you know what not to do next time.

And, bottom line, you haven't caused anyone any harm. Everyone makes mistakes.

How much of a problem is an SNC? Is it something that follows you around or drops away eventually?
It is in the Training Manual. I just checked. As I said I absolutely should have known better. I was just thrown by it being a mix of 2 things and 90% thing A. I automatically marked it as thing A.

Yes there is an amazing system of checks and balances due to the nature of the work involved. I circumvented them by being stupid. I wouldn’t make the same mistake again. Hope it’s not too late.

Try not to stress, and definitely don’t contact your old employer!

At my work this would just mean a bit more supervision, maybe an extended (but not doubled) probation.

I’m half way through the probation period and have only had positive feedback so far. I’m hoping that and a sincere apology/ plan of action carries me through. Thanks for the advice all.

Oh big hugs. What you've done here is made a mistake that you've corrected and found a flaw in the process. Don't go too hard on the latter but honestly you can say that you're aware now it shouldn't be done. Apologise and demonstrate what you've put in place to stop it happening again. Absolutely do not contact your old job - hugely premature. Wishing you luck tomorrow

Honestly, anyone who says they haven’t made some massive fuck ups at work is lying! We all do it, I’ve dropped some massive, major clangers which I still cringe about now. Bottom line here is, no loss of profit to the business. Admit your mistake (calmly!) tell them how you will make sure it never happens again, apologise and move on. I really do not think they will make any more of it.

Just be open and honest. People make mistakes. That's how we learn. no-one is perfect. Just don't try to hide it or blame others that is usually thought worse of than the actual mistake. I'd be surprised if you sacked especially if you have tried to rectify it as soon as you were made aware. At worse you may just get some feedback

Oh it totally drops away! It's not a permanent record type thing at all. It's something CEOs and ADs are very nervous of because of financial or reputational repercussions but it's not the end of the world. Sometimes it's not even the fault of the person involved, it's a training issue.

I've been involved in 3 in 10 years, where either my training of someone wasn't up to scratch, or I wasn't closely enough checking what new staff were doing.

What does your line manager say? We're they supposed to check your output?

My honest advice would be to be completely transparent, say you realise what happened was a problem, and lay out what you will now put in place to ensure it doesn't happen again - sanity checks/a checking system/a process improvement with an additional step to avoid it reoccurring.

Also offer to send an email to any involved parties explaining that a clerical error has occurred, no detrimental impact has happened, and processes have been put in place to avoid in future, and explain what the steps are.

In my workplace we'd then absolutely move on. Shit happens, you're human, we've probably all been involved in a fuck up! I certainly have.

I think the fact you completed work you weren't signed off to do is far more serious than the mistake. It shows lack of judgement and failure to fill instructions. Still you can only hope for the best and apologise.

I reread your post. Seems like you didnt realise the task included a bit of C which you werent authorised to do. This is just a mistake or oversight not deliberately not following instructions. I think it will be ok if you explain.

I work in quite a public facing industry, and so mistakes are seen by a lot of people. They are also really common - everyone screws up from time to time.

I think you can really get in your head on these things and catastrophise. My mum used to advise me on things like this that no work screw up is quite as bad as it seems (I know there are exceptions but I don’t think yours is one) and to face it as quickly as you can so everyone can move on.

Other posters are right: just tell your line manager and what you are doing to rectify the situation. You sound a very conscientious person. Hoping all ok tomorrow - good luck

The error was flagged by a colleague. You owned it; took responsibility; and immediately moved to rectify it; apologising to the client and providing them with the correct information. You understand how you went astray; and won't do that again. Absent industry or role specific concerns, it all seems reasonable, even positive. The part that most gives me pause is you catastrophising, and publicly too! Breathe, OP.

@HugeFuckUp - everyone in work fucks up from time to time. God knows I do, anyway. It’s good you’re stretching yourself. It sounds like you dealt with it really well. Make this experience work for you - learn what you can from it and you’ll be fine. Onwards and upwards, OP.

In which case they are very unlikely to sack you.

fess up first thing, I think your boss in most circumstances will really appreciate your honesty. Others would try and cover up their mistakes which is far worse IMO whether they get found out or not.

If you make a mistake, whatever you have done, the sooner you fess up to the boss the better. Explain what you did and why, but don't let it sound like you're making excuses. Keep as calm as you can- write it down if you think you may panic.
Everyone makes mistakes, especially when they are new- that's the point of training, to help minimise mistakes, but in very few jobs are you expected to get everything right first time when in training- hence a good employer will have people checking your work before it goes live if it is safety critcial at that stage. You seem to have done your best to patch things up. If you do your best to come clean about it then you've done all you can. If they don't forgive you, then you can't help it, you'll have done everything you can and you can't do more, so learn from it, but try to put it behind you. If they do forgive you, then be grateful, learn from it, and remember it if ever someone working for you makes a genuine error.

Take some deep breathes op, speak to your manager in the morning and make it clear that you understand where you went wrong, and what you will do to prevent something similar happening in future.

We are human, we all make mistakes but the fact that you are owning the problem (rather than trying to hide or deny it), have fixed the problem and have learnt from the mistake will go a long way

I've been in your shoes in a professional role, I was new to the role, still in probation and didn't know what I was doing nor had the confidence to seek the help I needed. My supervisor was a witch and made me feel stupid for asking questions. I made a monumental cock up which was really really bad - this happened over 10 years ago and I still feel sick when I think about it. No one couldve died or gone to prison but if it hadn't resolved itself my company would've been liable for £10,000s. I just panicked and didn't feel like I could say no or take a moment to double check. Unfortunately I got a bollocking and my probation extended. I hated it there and jumped ship before I was pushed and got a new job. Only a couple of years ago I read an article talking about mistakes made at work. Ultimately, if you make a mistake and your supervisor's response is anything other than "mistakes happen, how can we resolve it" then it's a reflection on them, not on you. Easy said in hindsight I know, but if it was a genuine mistake and you've not tried to cover it up, then they shouldn't fire you. And if they do, they're not the company for you.

I'd recommend going to your manager with a list of resolutions, rather than just the problem - funnily enough despite my almighty cock up I'm now a manager in a place I love working for and problems/mistakes are fine, so long as fault is accepted and ways to fix it are planned out. I hope tomorrow goes better than you think it will, sending you calm vibes xxx

Arguably, whoever was allocating the work to you maybe should have flagged this as you are new - it’s not necessarily just your mistake.