We all know the feeling when we’ve realised we’ve made a mistake at work. In social care, where you are supporting vulnerable people, the consequences can be greater and so can the guilt. So, when the mistake has officially been dealt with and it’s all back to work, what is the best way to deal and move on from your mistake at work? Our recovery guide tells you how.
Accept it
First things first, you made a mistake. It may have been dealt with and managed and be over, but that doesn’t mean you still don’t feel awful about it. It’s okay to feel bad but don’t revel in it and let it build up. Talk to someone, take five minutes to regroup. Accept it happened but don’t let it continue to impact you, it’s important to keep things in perspective.
Review why it happened
When you make a mistake take stock and think back to what you were doing when it happened and why it occurred. Could it be you were multi-tasking, distracted by your employee’s or thinking about an upcoming event that you’re worrying about? Maybe it was something out of your control? No matter the reason, it’s best to find out to understand how and why and to create a solution to stop it happening again.
Create an action plan
It’s important to make sure that you’ve learnt from the mistake and ensure it doesn’t happen again. Once you’ve thought about why the mistake happened and the causes behind it’s time to put a plan in place to stop it occurring again. Do you need to factor in more breaks into your work? Maybe you need to review key processes and legislation so you are up to speed.
Mistakes happen to everyone. Learning from our mistakes and ensuring you do the best job that you can, means you are putting the people you are caring for at the forefront and show you are a conscientious hard worker.
