That David Brent incident
 

Two-thirds of British workers admit to having had a
job-related embarrassing mishap, with men more prone to such calamities than
women – 72 percent compared to 63 percent men.

Topping the list of embarrassing mistakes
for Ten percent of men is calling their boss ‘mum’ or ‘dad’, while only three
percent of women mentioned this as their most uncomfortable moment. This is
closely followed by nine percent of men who have been caught in an
inappropriate situation with a colleague at a work party. Just six percent of
women agreed this was their most embarrassing professional slip-up.

Women,
however, are plagued by wardrobe malfunctions. Clothes-related incidents, such
as their skirt

being stuck in their pants or wearing slippers
into the office, have caused red cheeks for nine percent of women, compared to
just four percent of men.

Interestingly, men and women are equally likely to bring shame on themselves by
vomiting in front of their boss of colleagues due to over-indulgence – an
occurrence experienced by a startling five percent of the working population. A
further nine percent of men and women admit to having sent an unprofessional or
bitchy email to the wrong person – very often the subject of the message and
the last person they would want to read their inappropriate comments.

“Most of us try to maintain at least some semblance of a professional persona
in the workplace,” says Dave Snow Academic Director at Home Learning College.
“However, over the course of our working lives it’s likely that we will all
have at least one memory that makes us cringe with embarrassment. If you’ve
shown yourself up at work then you can either face the situation with your head
held high or wipe the slate clean and start again in a new company. If you need
to move on to pastures new then you might want to think about boosting your CV
with a professional, vocational qualification that will give you something
positive to talk about in interviews.” 

Top five embarrassing work mishaps (men and
women)
Nine percent – Mistakenly sending an unprofessional or bitchy email to the
wrong person
Nine percent – Being caught in an inappropriate situation with a colleague at a
work party
Seven percent – Having a ‘wardrobe malfunction’ i.e. skirt stuck in pants,
wearing slippers into the office
Six percent – Calling my boss mum/dad
Five percent – Vomiting in front of my boss or colleagues due to over
indulgence

Regional figures
Londoners are the most likely to have embarrassed themselves at work.
Almost three quarters (73 percent) of workers in the capital admitted to a
business-related mishap, compared to just 60 percent in Yorkshire and the
Humber. The most common mistake was calling their boss mum or dad (12 percent)
followed by sending an unsuitable email to the wrong person (11 percent).

People working in the South West are most likely to have vomited in front
of their boss or colleague due to over indulgence (eight percent), while their peers
in Wales are least likely to have suffered this fate. Scottish employees are
most likely to have been caught in an inappropriate situation with a colleague
at a work party (Ten percent) and have suffered the most wardrobe malfunctions
(Nine percent).

Workers in the West Midlands and South East share the dubious honour of
being most likely to have sent an unprofessional or bitchy email to someone other than the intended recipient (twelve percent).

*Research conducted amongst
3,000 British adults in employment

22 July 2010