I Confess, I Messed Up

Responsibility is something we are taught from a young age. We learn that our actions have consequences and when we do something wrong or mess something up, we should own up to it. So why is it that when people begin their working careers, all that goes out the window. I am not saying everyone does this, but I can personally attest to at least 10 different instances where a co-worker of mine has screwed something up and then let the chips fall where they did instead of fessing up to the mistake and then trying to fix it. I even know of one account where the person tried to fix the mistake before it was noticed, failed, and then tried to blame it on someone else. Lack of responsibility for one’s actions is something that has led to very toxic work environments in many industries. Most of the time, it is people fearing for their jobs if they actually admit they did something wrong. My advice to bosses and work leaders out there is to allow an environment of honesty and forgiveness that makes it so that a worker will always want to own up to their mistakes and then hopefully fix said mistakes. Also, to all the workers out there, I know it can be scary to know that your job may be on the line, but honesty really is the best policy so that crap doesn’t hit the fan because no one admits what really happened. The last thing most bosses want to do is line up their workers like siblings after a broken vase and grill everyone to see where mistakes were made. If you get in front of the mistake, it is probably not as hard to fix as you think it is. In the end, we all need to work together, not just so everyone keeps their jobs, but so an environment of understanding and compassion is built instead of the cobra fangs of workplaces that exist now. We will all get paid and we will all be okay, as long as we take responsibility for everything we touch, even if we break it. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.