You've Got to Be Kidding!: How to Keep Your Job Without Losing Your Integrity

Step 1: Assess the Problem

Since this is much more difficult to do if you panic, focus on what is real and don’t let your imagination run away with you. Take a deep, cleansing breath. Overreacting (“The sky is falling!”) is just as bad as underreacting (“Eh, I’ll be fine—this should just fix itself”). Since you’re likely to exacerbate the damage by overreacting, you must analyze the situation logically: What additional problems could occur as a result of this mistake? How might others be affected? What are the long- and short-term ramifications? Could you potentially lose customers over this? What is the value of that lost business?

Operating in a state of sheer panic may cause others to do things that are counterproductive, dangerous, or stupid. So please spare your coworkers unnecessary drama—take a breath and regain your perspective.