Link: https://old.reddit.com/r/tifu/comments/1vl69k2/tifu_shredding_newish_medical_files/

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The original was posted on /r/tifu by /u/No-Efficiency-2777 on 2026-08-11 03:32:38+00:00.

Hello all, first time posting here, so please be kind :)

Today I, fucked up royally at my job today, and I’m unsure how to go about fixing it.

For context, I’m 16, and I got a summer job at a clinic where I shred old files.

I’ve been working there for 3 months, and I’m really grateful to have it as it’s pretty good pay ($15/hr) for me at least, and they pulled some strings for me to be able to get the job.

Also, I’m the youngest there, everyone else has gone to med school or is over 30, so it’s not only intimidating but I barely interact with anyone other than my boss, otherwise I’m introducing myself, making a small comment, or helping with directions, etc.

The office also isn’t super organized, a lot of times it’s hard to tell when things were printed, and I have a huge lack of direction/supervision. Sometimes to the point where I feel like a toddler trying to find their mother in a grocery store.

Now to the problem.

My boss is old, (78+ I believe) like old enough where he has trouble remembering things, and it’s happened before where I’ve shredded some things that were really old, but not old enough.

I was recently told to shred all the paper in an office that wasn’t occupied by anything but boxes of old patient tests, and obviously I had assumed he meant shred everything.

Today, I grabbed a box, it was like half full, and said “keep, 2024”, but I’d seen plenty of boxes like that to the point I’d brushed it off. I’d also like to mention it was placed directly next to an untouched box that needed to be shredded, so right in the middle of everything.

(Usually all of these files, old or new are already scanned into our system.)

Anyhow, I had already shredded this box when a coworker (like mid-30s I’d guess) came in and said “hey you weren’t supposed to shred that box,” I apologized profusely and explained I’d just been told to shred everything, and he said it was fine but I had already started crying. I have really bad anxiety around this stuff, and while I know I’m being emotional and can understand this is temporary, I’m still very upset. I cried through the last 15 minutes of my shift and on the way home, cause this kinda feels like the end of the work world for me.

This may seem like a solution is all laid out for me, but I have no clue what to do from here other than tell my boss and ask for more clarification on things. I feel like all of my coworkers will think of me as the child who keeps screwing up and can’t do their job, when I’m really trying my best with what I’ve been given. I’m thankfully only working here for another few weeks cause of school, but I don’t want to leave on a bad note.

TL;DR: I shredded new files thinking I was supposed to shred them, and I’m new + the youngest at my job.