Making Mistakes At Work: What Should You Do And How To Avoid Them? (2024)

Mistakes can happen anywhere, even in your workplace & let’s be honest, making mistakes does not depend on the amount of experience you have. Even people with a lot of experience can make mistakes. So, instead of letting them affect your professionalism and work ethic negatively, you need to know what you can do about them and how to avoid them. Let’s dive deep into the topic. Let’s go!

Not all mistakes you make are embarrassing. Making mistakes helps you learn new things until you don’t repeat the same mistake repeatedly. So, if you ever make a mistake at work, you can take certain steps to reduce its impact. Once you recognise that you've made a mistake, here's what you can do:

• Acknowledge the error you made

Remember, life does not end after making mistakes. The first thing you need to do is acknowledge the error you made and be direct about it. It shows your level of professionalism. Explain the situation to your manager and coworkers so they understand why it happened in the first place. Communicate with the members of your team so you have time to rectify it.

• Offer a genuine apology While making mistakes is not always under your control, offering an apology is. Offer an apology to anyone you feel was affected by your mistake. It shows that you regret the error and respect people enough who were affected by the mistake you made. This step can help you restore a positive relationship with them.
• Find a solution to avoid the mistake Mistakes often happen due to a problem that you didn’t pay heed to or something that got overlooked. So, once you know the reason behind making mistakes that you did, it’s better to look for a solution. You can go back to the situation and evaluate what you could do differently to ensure this mistake doesn't happen again. Don’t remain guilty of the error you made, identify the probable solutions for it. Communicate the solution to all the key stakeholders to let them know if there’s any work added or reduced on their end. It can help you build trust in your workplace as it shows you take full responsibility for your mistakes.

Yes, making mistakes at work can feel the worst, at times even embarrassing. Here are some super easy ways you can use to avoid them:

• Pick A Time When You Can Be Attentive

You may know when you feel the most energetic in your entire day or when your calendar doesn’t seem as occupied. That’s the right time to pick your highest-priority tasks. This way you remain focused and avoid making mistakes as you are less likely to be disturbed.

• Create Checklists For Yourself

One of the most effective ways to avoid making mistakes is by creating checklists. Keeping a checklist can help you avoid overlooking or forgetting anything while working. You can have a process in place for it and use these checklists to ensure that you use it before you close any task at all.

• Take A Break

Not taking a break can result in errors, especially if you have been working on the same thing for way too long. Take short breaks or just take a break when you can to avoid making mistakes and keep your work error-free. Just walk away from your workspace and disengage from your responsibilities for a while. It can make a huge difference.

• Don’t Shy Away From Asking Questions

No matter which role you are in, ask as many questions as you want when you are beginning a new project. It will help you understand fully what is expected of you, what will be considered an error and what you add by being a part of this project. This way you can fully understand your work and you make fewer mistakes.

Remember that making mistakes is entirely normal and it allows you to learn. So, if you ever feel you messed up at work, don’t worry, try using the strategies above to make sure this doesn’t happen. If you learnt something new from this newsletter, subscribe to Success Strategies with Chegg and follow our LinkedIn page!