Careless mistake at work - should I fess up or wait it out?

[work26]

I realised yesterday that I made a mistake at work last week. No one else has noticed it yet and there’s probably about a 50% chance that it will be spotted, which will reduce with time. Would you fess up now or just sit tight and hope it’s never discovered? It’s not a major error but it was careless and shouldn’t have happened. My inclination is to say something but I’m worried it will put a black mark against my name. Please help!

I feel it is going to bother you more not saying anything and worrying about it than fessing and correcting it so im team confess -but I would always worry about this sort of thing.

Surely NOT saying anything will leave a bigger black mark against your name than realising, admitting and rectifying a careless mistake

People make mistakes and the best thing you can do when you make one at work is admit it, acknowledge you're aware it's a mistake and ensure you take steps not to do it again. Taking accountability is definitely the best thing to do.

I agree, not saying anything, and then it being discovered will look worse. I'd confess the mistake and follow up with what measures you will take to ensure it doesn't happen again. Will the mistake have an effect on your company, either financially or on their reputation?

Thank you everyone. I’m just tempted by the fact there’s a not insignificant chance I could “get away” with it, and as such, I might be drawing unnecessary negative attention to myself for nothing. If you were a manager what would you think of someone who flagged a mistake off their own bat - would you be impressed by their honesty or just a bit disconcerted that they made a mistake in the first place?

confess, being caught out later will be far more embarrassing than having the integrity to admit to a mistake now

Will the mistake have an effect on your company, either financially or on their reputation?

No - it’s minor in the grand scheme of things (but feels big now obviously). What I’m worried about is the effect on my reputation!

I would respect your integrity and trust that you would not do it again. Trust goes both ways though; do you believe your boss will be proportionate if you disclosed your error to her?

Depending on the impact on people and things at work, I would personally sit tight for now ! x

What can you do to correct it? I’m always happier when someone comes to me with a problem and a potential solution.

the important thing is what you've learnt from the mistake.

If you were to say I made a mistake and this is what I will do in future to ensure I don't make the same or similar mistake again, that's mature and quite admirable.

covering up or not admitting you've done something wrong in the hope it won't be picked up is not a good look in a professional environment.

What is the mistake? It's impossible to give an answer without knowing. If it's a typo in a document don't bother, but if it's going to have a real world impact then mentioning the mistake and agreeing remedial action is by far the more mature thing to do and will show you to be conscientious and trustworthy.

@Owly11 I changed a figure from right to wrong in a document that has been sent out to clients. When this happens, if someone notices we send out an email to recipients saying it’s our error and including a correction. But there’s a chance it just won’t be noticed (I’m sure lots of mistakes aren’t!)

covering up or not admitting you've done something wrong in the hope it won't be picked up is not a good look in a professional environment.

Agreed, but they wouldn’t know I’m covering up. As far as they know I’m blissfully unaware. I just happened to be reading back over my work and spotted it.

Admit your mistake and send an email with the correct figure

I’m feeling daunted to do this when I don’t even have to!

Always better to admit it. It sounds like it's fixable too.

Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. Aim to always own up to it and rectify it.

It shows that you have the skill to spot the error (even if you didn’t immediately) and the integrity to own your mistakes.

When something bigger goes wrong in the team and is found out, you won’t be suspected as the one who did it and hid it.

Disclaimer - I’d maybe not own up in a blame-culture organisation where everybody is trying to throw someone under the bus to protect themselves, but I’d also be actively trying to get out of that environment.

Thanks. I don’t see any evidence that it’s a blame culture, but it’s a big company and I don’t know how things operate behind the scenes with management.

Reliable employees build trust by pointing out their own errors promptly

I would think highly of you for spotting it and correcting it. Not a black mark at all. Everyone makes errors

I've posted this before but everyone makes mistakes. CEOs, top surgeons, barristers all make mistakes. There are scientific reasons for this, we cannot train our brains to never make mistakes. We can learn from them, but we should also design our systems of work to reduce the risk of mistakes. Are accuracy critical jobs done in a quiet environment, with no interruptions? Do you build in checks to your process. Do people have the right training, equipment and experience for the job.

As a senior manager, I would expect my team to come to me if they'd made a mistake and I'd support them to fix it. I've also pulled managers up for blaming staff for making mistakes (it's known as my "soap box"). However, I would be concerned if a mistake was covered up.

That said, only you know your organisational culture.

I’d think better of you for owning it and correcting it, than if I found it and thought either you didn’t know or lied.

If you decide to ignore the mistake that will tell the employer what sort of an employee you are if the mistake is found. What if someone sees it and comes back to you and asks you about it? You either say you had no idea so you look careless and are a liar or you admit you saw it and didn’t act to correct it which makes you unreliable. I’d personally rather tell my employer and correct the mistake

So you spotted the mistake when you read through your work. Are you saying you didn't bother to check your work but just happen to do it after the fact.

the fact you're now maintaining that you don't see why you should have to own up because it might not get picked up, well what's the point of starting this thread, when you're just defending your position.

youve made up your mind, so don't own up, fine, it's your choice.

but bear in mind you come across as stubborn by not being willing to see that it isnt just about getting away with the mistake it's about behaving in the right way because that's the right thing to do, not because someone's watching.

I would respect for someone who owned a mistake and took steps to address it but would treat someone who deliberately made a decision to ignore a mistake with suspicion going forward. We are all human and mistakes happen, it’s how you deal with them that matters.