Question about that moment I spilled coffee on my boss's report before a big meeting

Last Tuesday I was in the conference room at our Detroit office and my hand slipped, dumping coffee right across the quarterly report I had just printed. I told him the printer messed up and asked for an extra 20 minutes to redo it, but now I feel guilty for lying. Has anyone else covered up a work mistake with a white lie like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

quinncarr1mo ago

Bad move owning up to it. You handled it right. Your boss didn't need the stress of a coffee disaster before a presentation, he needed the report. The lie let him focus on the meeting, not on your spilled drink. Printers jam, files corrupt, and coffee happens. You saved him the headache and got the job done. No guilt necessary.

tarabell1mo ago

Oh gosh, that feeling of guilt is the worst, isn't it? I have definitely been there. You did what you had to do in a stressful moment to keep things moving, and honestly, I think that counts for something. The priority was getting that report fixed and letting your boss walk into the meeting calm and prepared. Sometimes a little white lie like that is just part of being a good employee, as long as you don't make a habit of it. I wouldn't beat yourself up over it. You handled a bad situation well, and that's what really matters.

skyler_jackson271mo ago

Three years ago I told my boss I had "car trouble" when really I just overslept after a late night. @quinncarr is spot on, sometimes the small lie keeps things running smooth and nobody gets hurt. People act like every little fib is some huge moral failure, but in the real world you just gotta get the work done.

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