How to deal with every ‘uh oh’ moment at work

I speak from experience


Like most young adults working through minimum wage jobs or a first internship, I’ve had my fair share of overly-critical bosses, nasty employees, and rude customers.

It takes a whole lot of trial and error to figure out how to best deal with tricky work situations. After all, there are a million ways something could go wrong.

Take the time I decided to sit down and take a break at work, not realizing that my boss had turned on video cameras in the store and could check them on her phone while she was away.

I got a phone call from her asking why I was sitting down. The only way out of that one was if a hole opened up in the ground and swallowed me whole.

After that (and many other horrifying situations), I try to stick to a few general rules.

Make yourself seem busy, even if you aren’t

I definitely learned my lesson after the video camera incident.

Even if it is the slowest day on Earth and you have nothing to do, pretend you are doing something. Straighten already neatly-placed products. Sweep the floor again. Check phone messages. Whatever it is, do something. 

The last thing you want is for your boss to walk in and see you bored out of your mind – trust me.

Explain yourself as simply as possible

Maybe you are trying to explain why you messed up a customer’s order, or maybe you are explaining why you can’t work next Friday. Whatever it is, short and sweet is the way to go.

If you start giving every last detail, it gets confusing and it’s tempting to lie or blame others and make yourself look better.

If you did something wrong, “It’s my fault, won’t happen again” will suffice. No need to give a long winded “I would’ve emptied the trash can except John said Sarah usually has the morning shift empty it when it’s a slow night like tonight”.

Never talk about co-workers behind their back, even if your boss is doing it

Working in a gossip-run place is the worst. You are constantly being updated on the latest slip-up from your co-workers and can always catch catty remarks as soon as the subject is out of hearing range.

You live in fear of what they are saying behind your back.

You are caught between a rock and a hard place. You don’t want to engage in the conversation about Tony’s lack of style, but you also don’t want to place yourself as their subject by chastising them for talking about him behind his back.

Say something in favor of the unfortunate subject, like “Oh Tony is so nice though.” Hopefully they will agree, and then feel bad about continuing their chat.

Reply to criticisms with short acceptances, but never blaming others or arguing

Again, short and sweet is the way to go. You need to clear off the tables quicker? “Okay. Will do.” That’s all.

If you start explaining that you take your time cleaning because you want to do a more thorough job than if you did it in a timely fashion, it starts to seem an awful lot like you are arguing with your criticizer.

I’ve made that mistake plenty of times, and it always ends with the boss putting their foot down and saying this way they want things done. Period.

As my mother would say, “Nice them to death”

However cliche this saying is, it is tried and true.

I had a super nasty coworker once who always rolled her eyes at me and criticized everything I did. Instead of being mean back, I decided to just be syrupy, sugary sweet to her. It felt weird because each toothy smile and “How are you today?!” was definitely fake, but after a few days, I noticed a complete difference. (Sigh – I guess you were right, mom.)

So give that rude customer, boss, or co-worker an extra dose of over-the-top cheeriness to break through their stone cold heart.

Remember, there will always be nasty people

Just when you feel like you are entering the adult world, someone in the work place reminds you that many people are still mentally stuck in junior high.

Sadly, many adults have told me that it will always be like this. You will always have to deal with unpleasant people and uncomfortable situations. Working in a pleasant environment with only nice people would be too easy right?