what a stupid mistake.

[fierce]

I did a stuuuuuuuuuuuuupid thing today. and i feel like such an idiot. in fact, i think i am an idiot. a really huge idiot. a moron.

the accounts guy came over to our quad of desks today and said that the cheque to the govt was wrong. this was a cheque that i had written up, and i was like "okay so is it over or under, cos i re-calculated that three times and the figures were right" and he said it was under by a certain number. So the numbers were 1,072,000 vs 1,163,000 approx. I said, "so you mean the govt owes us money and we have to get the cheque back and cancel it and write up a new one?" and he said "no, we owe them money" and i argued the point with him for a while, and he then threw his hands up in frustration. I suddenly realised I was looking only at the 72 vs 63, and said "Oh my gawd, i'm so sorry, don't pay any attention to me, i've had a really long day". and my supervisor went "anyone hear that? i think the penny just dropped".

Thing is, i didn't understand what was wrong in the first place, argued the point because it was the first time i had ever done that report & that cheque (and it's a huuuuuge report - takes about 10 days to do) and i was kind of protective of all the work i'd done. I think i made a really bad impression on the accounts guy (he's one of the managers), and i am worried that he's lost what little respect he had for a lowly team member like me in the first place. I feel sick to the stomach thinking about it. I don't really want this job, but until i find another one i can't afford to make these kinds of mistakes.

I feel as though everyone else around me is on some higher level of awareness than me. i feel so stupid. and now the accounts manager probably won't sign any more of my loss statements

[Broccoli]

It is certainly unpleasant to make mistakes like this, but it's not the end of the world. I have also done a lot of stupid mistakes and other people in my office have... I was very confused at first, but life goes on and later you get the chance to improve your reputation and show your supervisors that you can do your work well. So don't worry!

[Alice I]

People are human and the accounts manager, I am sure, is aware of that. He has probably made a few mistakes in his time.
If you are concerned about the impression that you made on him then I would approach him about it.
Explain that you were looking at the entire thing with a misunderstanding of what he was trying to point out. Tell him that you were being protective of your work and realized your error later on.
If you approach him graciously and maybe even crack a joke at your own expense he will probably respond favorably.
(Guys out there please don't take offense) but when you are dealing with a man in management stroking his ego is never a bad thing to do. Men in management like to be told that they are right.

[Aberforth]

The unfortunate thing about accounting is that any mistake results in lost money. When your job is in money there is a clear indcation of how much is lost. In my job as an engineer, if I design something incorrectly but still mostly works ok, then it is much harder to quantify my mistake.

Don't feel bad. Governments make mistakes with the budget and taxes and they are probably payed more than most of us.

[Evil Wizard Petting Zoo]

Don't you dare get down about that! Whenever I make mistakes at work, I just come back with my head held high, and I make myself look extra pretty! Hehe, that always helps!

[fierce]

Ah thanks guys... of course I feel better now (if i hadn't moved on by this point I doubt there would be much hope for me at all!)...

I think I felt worse about the mistake because at that point in time my contract was almost expired, and my friend had just resigned, and the company had just fired her sister (who was also my friend), and my other friend was going on holidays... and I just felt completely alone and scared. I decided i didn't want to stay with that company any longer, so i advised them i wouldn't be renewing my contract, they practically begged me to stay. Actually, one of our supervisors did literally beg... as in she sat on my desk and said "please, please stay! what would make you stay?" and i said "more money" because the contract they had offered me was exactly the same as the last one, and i was sick of it and told them so. But in the end, I found out that I was a valuable staff member in their eyes, and they didn't just see the stupid mistake i had made that anyone could have made... My friend didn't get begged to stay, in fact they didn't even bother with her. They just said "okay, good luck with your future endeavours".

But I realised it was because she had always come in late, never did any work, and just spent hours with her boyfriend, whose desk was just up the hall from her. I didn't do that... not because i'm a suck-up or anything, but because I go to work to work, not to get in trouble for lazing around. i can do that in my spare time. But i don't because it's not worth it, except on sunday mornings

But anyways, I've been offered two jobs since then, and even though i'm broke at the moment (my holiday pay ran out about a week ago ) that's only because security things had to be organised for me at my new job. takes time. So i'll be earning about $6000 more at this job, which is sweet as! and i feel better.