Interactions between people are not always as smooth as we'd like them to be. There are times when our dialogues can lead to injured feelings. When this happens it's critical that those involved admit their full responsibility for their actions, be ready and willing to accept reprimand for their actions and work towards a full reconciliation. An important step is for the employee to compose a letter of apology.
In the following example, hurt feelings were part of an interoffice relationship.
The purpose of this letter is to apologize for last week's incident where I accidentally hurt your feelings. The fact that I could have been so insensitive at such a time as the holidays is appalling to me. To have been a part of such a misunderstanding, one that risks breaking the trust that we've spent so many years building up is such an unnecessary waste, that I must reiterate how sorry I am over this entire occurrence.
I totally understand how hurt and upset you are after what transpired last Friday. There is just no way I can rationalize such behavior. I was in the wrong and I hurt you and the company which has provided for me all these many years. It is with a heavy heart that I compose this official letter of apology to you, I am so sorry.
As such, I take full responsibility for what happened, and I expect to be reprimanded for my actions. I own what I did, no matter if it was accidental, I am still in control of my faculties and should have known better and stood down. However, I did not and continued my dialogue which I later learned, hurt your feelings.
The incident began innocently enough. It was an office gathering, informal and we all had eaten our food and had a few drinks. I was passed the knowledge that you had a relationship with Gemma from the mail room, and as they were telling me, I let out a shock of surprise. This then alerted more co-workers to our discussion. Before we knew it, much of the office staff was then aware of your relationship.
There is no possible way I can make this up to you. However, if you can think of anything which I can do to regain our trust that we once shared, please inform me immediately. Again, it all began as an innocent conversation, one that had gone too far and too personal too fast.