Tardiness in the Workplace

It's 8:30 am now and the employee who is supposed to be there at the office at 8:15 am, has not turned up yet. This is not only the case with one person, in fact there is a long list of late comers. Lack of time management is one of the most negative traits in a person which gives rise to tardiness in the workplace. Traffic jam might be a reason for getting late, but why can't you wake up 5-10 minutes early or if you were late because you could not find the keys or the wallet, then you are a very irresponsible person. So, why should a firm waste its valuable time and money looking at the clock and waiting for you. They can easily find some other eligible and responsible person for the job. Punctuality is the most demanding workplace ethic.

Nowadays, tardiness at the workplace has become a perturbing issue for the companies because it is affecting the productivity. A survey conducted among U.S. workers shows that one of five workers is late to work at least once a week. Reaching work later than the usual time is increasing every year, the percentage of workers going late to the office once a week is 20 percent and a similar survey conducted a year before showed 15 percent workers were late to work in a week.

Main Reasons

The reasons for being late at work are many and some of them are really very funny. One of the most common issues is of public transport and traffic. Other reasons are lack of sleep, dealing with the pets, unexpected guests at wrong time, getting the kids ready for the school, personal sickness, and so on and so forth. Some outrageous excuses for getting late are taking a shower again after getting stuck in a spider web, another is car keys hidden by the husband. Some say that they had to take a long route because the car's left indicator was broken and they had to take all right turns to reach office. Many known companies conducted a survey in their own firms to check the rate of tardiness and observed that it has increased by almost one percent within in a year.

The Effects

The consequences can be grave if the employer loses his patience. Employer doesn't care for your mode of transportation, children or anything else if you consistently come late. They expect that if they are paying you then you must be there on time and execute the work effectively. If not, then firing and hiring is an easy job for them. So, it's entirely your choice of being hired or fired. After all, every individual is accountable for his or her action. Productivity in the workplace also gets affected if the employees are often late.

Tips to Keep in Mind

There is always a solution to any problem. Here are some tips to the organizations for dealing with lateness at your office.

• Start with asking the reason for coming late and show your concern for the problem giving rise to their tardy attitude. This will make the employee realize that he is being noticed for coming late.
• Ask the employee how he is planning to improve his records. Agree on the solution which he suggests and give him a chance to improve.
• If repeated, give a verbal warning, show him all his records and tell him the time at which he is supposed to report.
• Give a written warning if the same attitude persists. Give a copy of memo to him and keep a record of the acknowledgment of his receiving.
• Keep a check on the attendance and if the problem persists even after giving warnings, don't feel hesitant to fire him so that it sets an example for others.

Dealing with tardiness for employees is very simple and straight. Don't let this worst situation come up and prune this habit before it starts growing. It is the responsibility of every individual to manage his time and keep the personal affairs away from the profession. To get respect in workplace, one has to stick to the workplace ethics. Being on time can have serious effects on one's job. But it's easy to overcome this problem once we learn to manage ourselves.