How to Apologize for Messing up at Work
Mistakes happen. But there are ways to turn the situation to your advantage. As soon as you find out that you have made a mistake, prepare what you’re going to say to your boss and then reach out (добиваться) to talk about it.
1. Be clear about what went wrong– start with a few simple declarative sentences. “I did X. As a result, Y happened.” You can provide more context afterward, but it’s critical to lay out clearly what happened.
2. Suggest a fix– tell your boss anything you have done already to try to fix the problem. Offer to do whatever needs to be done to minimize (уменьшить) the damage that arises from an error. If you are new on the job and are not sure what to do, then work closely with your supervisor to understand better how to fix the situation.
3. Plan for the future– that means that you need to think through how you will handle (справляться) situations like that in the future. Identify what went wrong. Did you act too quickly? Did you neglect (забывать) to check your work? Did you listen to someone you shouldn’t have? Then sit down with the boss again and plan for exactly how you will deal with situations like this in the future.
