Servicing a stubborn door brought up old guilt about skipped steps

In my first years, bosses would push us to finish fast, even if things weren't perfect. Now I look back and worry we might have put folks in harm's way. How do you deal with that guilt from earlier times?

4 comments

4 Comments

clairep101mo ago

Your post hits home. I dealt with that same push to finish fast. But oscarb16 has a point. Is there a particular job or mistake that keeps you up at night, or is it just a vague fear? In my experience, knowing the exact problem makes the guilt sharper, but not knowing can eat away at you too. Facing a real mistake is tough, but it gives you a chance to make things right. General worry just spins in your head. Have you ever tried to track down any of those old jobs to check on them?

kelly47023d ago

My old foreman rushed a deck job in 2015 and I still picture those loose railings.

oscarb161mo ago

Seriously though, are you carrying this guilt because you know about a specific door that actually failed, or is it just a general worry that you might have screwed something up? That's a huge difference. One means you're haunted by a real event, the other means you're just second-guessing every old job. Which one is it?

elliot_wright21mo ago

My buddy Carl worked on a hospital upgrade in 2017. One door he okayed didn't seal right during a fire drill. They caught it fast, but he had to redo the whole frame. He says that exact door bugs him way more than just wondering about old jobs.