How to Handle Failures at Work?
It is impossible to live a life without adversities and failures unless you are too cautious about what you do. Mistakes are part and parcel of life as they teach us important lessons and help us grow as an individual. There might have been various incidences in your life where you failed to do something. It could be losing a race as a kid, scoring low in a subject you disliked, or failing to meet the expected project deadline at the workplace. Every employee, whether a fresher or graduate has to bear the brunt of his/her boss when your work is not up to the mark. Instead of letting the emotions flow on the spur of the moment, it is necessary to deal with the situation in a very calm and civilized way. Following points demonstrate ways to manage workplace failures without being hyper.

- Be self-confident
Never let shortcomings take a toll on your confidence. To have a successful career, one should not allow mistakes to halt his/her path. There is nothing to be ashamed of, if you have failed at a particular task. Gradually, you will be able to minimize mistakes and build confidence.
- Face the truth graciously
Howsoever efficient you might, work pressure and other stresses can lead to a decline in your productivity. This does not mean that your career is in danger and has come to a stagnant point. Learn to accept criticism and negative feedback from your seniors without being offensive and indifferent towards the colleagues.
- Don’t be afraid of gossip
Failures often become a hot topic of discussion among co-workers, specially those who take great interest in finding faults in others. Never let gossips diver your focus. One should not worry about what people talk if he/she has already learned from mistakes and taken steps for improvement.
- Don’t let others take advantage
To err is human and if you have failed in achieving the target, take its responsibility and be ready to face its probable consequences. Report your failure to the concerned person and apologize for the same. Also, specify methods by talking about what rectification measures can be applied to correct the mistake.
- Say ‘yes’ to only plausible things
In order to impress the employer, you might take up more tasks and then get confused how to manage all. Failures occur when you are not able to deliver as per your commitments. Hence, you should only take up those tasks that can be completed within a stipulated time.
- Identify where you went wrong
Analyzing mistakes prevent you from repeating them in the future. Understanding why you failed to finish a task will help in realizing what skills must be polished and also help in restraining an individual in making the same mistakes in future projects. Try to understand the reason behind failure — whether it was due to your negligence, climatic hindrances for on-site tasks or office politics and then take appropriate measures.
- Look at it as another chance
See your mistake as a second chance to do the task in a better way. It could be helpful in discovering new ideas and methods that you might have overlooked in the first attempt, and hence deliver a more refined project. Take help from colleagues when you feel stuck.
Setbacks are inevitable in life since no one is born perfect. This implies that if you have never failed at anything means you haven’t tried anything new. Therefore, even if you have committed a mistake and failed in reaching your goal at the workplace, the first thing to do is accept it honestly. If you admit to mistakes and take it positively, then it becomes easier to bounce back with new vigor at the organization.
