Posted by admin on 5th August 2009

6 Stages of Office Shock

When someone, who has committed a serious mistake in the office, is confronted with it, he or she goes through several stages of shock;

Shock - Silence, as initial impact is felt. The brain needs time to assimilate information.
Disbelief - (“I don’t believe it…”) Some people never get beyond this stage and continue to pretend nothing has happened.
Guilt - (“It’s all my fault…”) Taking all the blame, regardless of responsibility. Some stay at this stage.
Blame - (“It wouldn’t not has happened if he hadn’t been in such a rush..”) Still buying time: Responsibility is pushed onto other people or events. Antidote to reality of the shock.
Rationalization - (“I was too tired to check it..”) Logical part of brain takes over and works out a reason for acting that way. Analysis often in inaccurate, but brain is closer to accepting the experience for what it is.
Integration - (“There’s nothing we can do about it now..”) Finally, the situation is accepted- in minutes or years. mistake becomes one more piece of experience on which to base future judgments.

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