Chronic late to work

[NHdisneylover]

Like I said, if that was my expected daily schedule (arriving and departing on the hour), I'd find another job.

I wasn't claiming to be perpetually late - I was answering the claim that it's easy enough to move your arrival time by 15 minutes. My husband can't easily move his arrival time by 15 minutes either, because it pushes him into rush hour and he'd have to leave home an hour earlier to get to the office 15 minutes earlier. He can't easily get home 15 minutes earlier either.

Yep--traffic work like that, and most of us DO adjust (lucky you that your jobs do not require it). We leave early enough to beat the traffic and then either go into work early, run errands near our workplace, read in the car, etc.

My son arrives 30 minutes early for school every day (when I drive him--not when he takes public transit--but it is a weird connection that requires he leave even earlier from home ). If we leave a mere 5 minutes later the traffic is backed up and is more likely than not that he will be late--so we leave early to miss the traffic an he gets there very early---but that is far preferable to arriving late

 

[NHdisneylover]

If you are always 15 minutes late it is easily remedied...always leave 15 minutes earlier. It really is just laziness or lack of caring to not see something so easily correctable and correct it.

It seems so simple, doesn't it?

This is one of the reasons why I always ask anyone applying for my department if they have a car. An applicant would have to shine way above everyone else for me to consider them if they had to rely on public transportation to get to work. It is one thing to choose to use it but if using it got you here late more then every so often I'd tell them they need to find another way to get here or find another job.

I am surprised HR allows you to ask that! And i am surprised you discriminate against those who do not have cars. People who are inconsiderate enough to be late may use the public transit as an excuse, but those who are not the "chronically late" types will take that earlier train and find a way to occupy themselves in the 50 minutes before work starts and will only be late due to truly unpredictable issues with the public transit breaking down about as often as those with a car will be late due to unpredictable major traffic issues.

 

[dawnball]

This is one of the reasons why I always ask anyone applying for my department if they have a car. An applicant would have to shine way above everyone else for me to consider them if they had to rely on public transportation to get to work. It is one thing to choose to use it but if using it got you here late more then every so often I'd tell them they need to find another way to get here or find another job.

I think this must be regional, or related to the jobs you're filling. Here, taking Caltrain is remarkably common and more reliable (once you account for daily delays) than driving. I have a car - I choose to have a job that doesn't make me drive it every day, or even every week.

For the sake of clarity: I show up when my boss expects me to - it would just be very inconvenient to show up 15 minutes earlier, because it isn't always as simple as "leave 15 minutes earlier".

 

[Handbag Lady]

I'm sure most chronically late people view themselves that way. Most of them are quite incorrect.

 

[Handbag Lady]

I dont understand some of your reasons...some of them I get if you are on a work call then you are working, if you are at a offsite mtg than you are working I dont know what a carbeque is

But how can you justify the too cold to get out of bed, didnt feel like racing to work reasons We have all felt that way didnt make it a good reason to be late. And the traffic one befuddles me as well, just leave earlier. I know for a fact that if DS16 and I leave 5 minutes later we will get stuck behind a school bus and then that will snowball into more traffic and it taking longer and therefore DS10 will be late. So we once we learned that the hard way, we have never been late again

Fair enough, I'll explain.

Some people think that if you are not at your desk, you are not working. This isn't the case for me pretty much around the clock as needed. A carbeque is when a car catches fire on the side of the freeway; it happens here often enough.

If I am supposed to be off work at 6, and I'm still there at 9 pm, I STILL have life to do, the dishes, the laundry, etc. So, I tend to do those when I get home late. If I want to stay in another 10 or 15 minutes, I'm okay with this considering the night before I was at work for over 3 hours more than I'm getting paid. I'm also salary and no one tracks my time. Are you psychic? How can you tell when there is going to be a full stop or Sigalert that ISN'T on the news? Some days, I can leave 15 or 20 minutes early and it wouldn't matter. I do live in Los Angeles if that says anything.

If all I had to worry about was one school bus, I'd be happy.

 

[Ginger Renae]

It seems so simple, doesn't it?


I am surprised HR allows you to ask that! And i am surprised you discriminate against those who do not have cars. People who are inconsiderate enough to be late may use the public transit as an excuse, but those who are not the "chronically late" types will take that earlier train and find a way to occupy themselves in the 50 minutes before work starts and will only be late due to truly unpredictable issues with the public transit breaking down about as often as those with a car will be late due to unpredictable major traffic issues.

I work contract positions a lot and that is always a question they ask. They need to make sure they hire someone with reliable transportation that gets to work on time.

 

[dawnball]

Yep--traffic work like that, and most of us DO adjust (lucky you that your jobs do not require it). We leave early enough to beat the traffic and then either go into work early, run errands near our workplace, read in the car, etc.

My son arrives 30 minutes early for school every day (when I drive him--not when he takes public transit--but it is a weird connection that requires he leave even earlier from home ). If we leave a mere 5 minutes later the traffic is backed up and is more likely than not that he will be late--so we leave early to miss the traffic an he gets there very early---but that is far preferable to arriving late

Yup. We've done it, too. I never said it wasn't possible (It's even an important life skill, IMO.) - I said that arriving 15 minutes earlier isn't always as simple as leaving 15 minutes earlier.

When I was young, I made optimistic assumptions about my schedule (like that leaving 15 minutes early would get me to work 15 minutes earlier), and found myself frequently late or stressed by rushing. These days I make much more realistic ones, arrive when I expect to, and everyone seems happier all around. It's less luck than experience, effort and communication.

 

[FireDancer]

I am surprised HR allows you to ask that! And i am surprised you discriminate against those who do not have cars. People who are inconsiderate enough to be late may use the public transit as an excuse, but those who are not the "chronically late" types will take that earlier train and find a way to occupy themselves in the 50 minutes before work starts and will only be late due to truly unpredictable issues with the public transit breaking down about as often as those with a car will be late due to unpredictable major traffic issues.

I can't see myself hiring anyone who doesn't have a car the vast majority of the time. It isn't just about how they get to work and go home though or how that effects tardiness. It is also about flexibility. I might need someone to come in at 2:00am because a server that is used 24/7 is down and they can't just wait until the next bus if one is even running at that hour. I also have sites that need support and if a router goes down at one of my regional offices in the middle of the day I need them to be able to jump in their car and go now, not hope there is a bus that will somehow get them there down the road. I've had to jump in the car myself and drive down to near Columbus to fix a problem that couldn't wait until later...well beyond the 2.5 hour drive that is.

That lack of flexibility is exactly what makes an employee choose between being an hour early or 15 minutes late. That just doesn't seem very flexible to me.

 

[DopeyDame]

Fair enough, I'll explain.

Some people think that if you are not at your desk, you are not working. This isn't the case for me pretty much around the clock as needed. A carbeque is when a car catches fire on the side of the freeway; it happens here often enough.

If I am supposed to be off work at 6, and I'm still there at 9 pm, I STILL have life to do, the dishes, the laundry, etc. So, I tend to do those when I get home late. If I want to stay in another 10 or 15 minutes, I'm okay with this considering the night before I was at work for over 3 hours more than I'm getting paid. I'm also salary and no one tracks my time. Are you psychic? How can you tell when there is going to be a full stop or Sigalert that ISN'T on the news? Some days, I can leave 15 or 20 minutes early and it wouldn't matter. I do live in Los Angeles if that says anything.

If all I had to worry about was one school bus, I'd be happy.

But are you actually considered late, or do you just have a flexible job? If the requirement and expectation is that you show up at a specific time, then those excuses fall flat. If your boss/group is more flexible and expects people to shift hours a little as needed, then you're not chronically late, you're just in a fortunately flexible positoin.
Those really are two different things.

 

[Mkrop]

Fair enough, I'll explain.

Some people think that if you are not at your desk, you are not working. This isn't the case for me pretty much around the clock as needed. A carbeque is when a car catches fire on the side of the freeway; it happens here often enough.

If I am supposed to be off work at 6, and I'm still there at 9 pm, I STILL have life to do, the dishes, the laundry, etc. So, I tend to do those when I get home late. If I want to stay in another 10 or 15 minutes, I'm okay with this considering the night before I was at work for over 3 hours more than I'm getting paid. I'm also salary and no one tracks my time. Are you psychic? How can you tell when there is going to be a full stop or Sigalert that ISN'T on the news? Some days, I can leave 15 or 20 minutes early and it wouldn't matter. I do live in Los Angeles if that says anything.

If all I had to worry about was one school bus, I'd be happy.

Huh I have no idea what a full stop or a Sigalert is.

It sounds like you are flextime so what do you care about all of this. It doesnt sound like you have a set schedule. So being late isnt a big deal like it is in some jobs.

DH is in sales, most days his job is pretty flexible but if he has a trade show or a meeting with a client he needs to factor in all kinds of traffic issues all the time. And I think the traffic around Philly, up the NJ turnpike and the LI Expressway is comparable. He cant arrive late so he doesnt, he builds in a cushion and he gets there. If he is early he makes some calls, answer emails etc from the parking lot.

 

[Ember]

This is one of the reasons why I always ask anyone applying for my department if they have a car. An applicant would have to shine way above everyone else for me to consider them if they had to rely on public transportation to get to work. It is one thing to choose to use it but if using it got you here late more then every so often I'd tell them they need to find another way to get here or find another job.

I take pubic transport every day. I am always at work between an hour to 45 minutes early. I am usually one of the first people there, before all my coworkers with cars.

You followed up with a lot of reasons a car would be needed (2am calls, etc), but this first post is just prejudicial. Taking public transport does NOT automatically equate to tardiness.

 

[dawnball]

Some people think that if you are not at your desk, you are not working.

I get the feeling this thread conflates a lot of issues, and latches on to "tardiness" as the unifying factor.

In some jobs, being physically present at a specific time is a job requirement, and if you don't meet that job requirement, it's a problem. In other jobs, it isn't required by the role, but might be culturally relevant. Accommodating the culture may or may not be required. And in some jobs - it's neither required nor culturally expected - there are other metrics for working hard.

Bad employees are bad employees, regardless of their on-time status. Good employees are good employees, and are present when they ought to be without any external influence. Most people fall somewhere in the middle - and it's up to the employer to indicate the standards that must be met.

 

[dawnball]

I can't see myself hiring anyone who doesn't have a car the vast majority of the time. It isn't just about how they get to work and go home though or how that effects tardiness. It is also about flexibility. I might need someone to come in at 2:00am because a server that is used 24/7 is down and they can't just wait until the next bus if one is even running at that hour. I also have sites that need support and if a router goes down at one of my regional offices in the middle of the day I need them to be able to jump in their car and go now, not hope there is a bus that will somehow get them there down the road. I've had to jump in the car myself and drive down to near Columbus to fix a problem that couldn't wait until later...well beyond the 2.5 hour drive that is.

That lack of flexibility is exactly what makes an employee choose between being an hour early or 15 minutes late. That just doesn't seem very flexible to me.

Seriously? That sounds like you have bigger concerns than people coming in 15 minutes late or not having a car. If you're not going to fix those issues, you should probably talk to HR about making owning a car and ability to drive official job requirements.

 

[amg35]

I can't see myself hiring anyone who doesn't have a car the vast majority of the time. It isn't just about how they get to work and go home though or how that effects tardiness. It is also about flexibility. I might need someone to come in at 2:00am because a server that is used 24/7 is down and they can't just wait until the next bus if one is even running at that hour. I also have sites that need support and if a router goes down at one of my regional offices in the middle of the day I need them to be able to jump in their car and go now, not hope there is a bus that will somehow get them there down the road. I've had to jump in the car myself and drive down to near Columbus to fix a problem that couldn't wait until later...well beyond the 2.5 hour drive that is.

That lack of flexibility is exactly what makes an employee choose between being an hour early or 15 minutes late. That just doesn't seem very flexible to me.

I'm assuming from both of your posts that you must not live in a major city. Here in Chicago and in NYC, the majority of people get to work by public transportation, biking, or as I do, walking. I do take the blueline too, if the weather is bad.

I'm never late, I'm up early enough to still arrive on time even if there is an L-train delay. Worst case scenario, I grab a cab.

Now what you are talking about are job specific requirements. You NEED a car to go to different offices during the day or after hours, I'm equating that to you need a bike to be a bike messenger.

The original post is talking apples, you are talking oranges.

 

[NMAmy]

If one of my staff told me they couldn't get to work on time because it was too cold to get out of bed, we'd be discussing how they may soon be able to stay in bed all day.

 

[crz4mm2]

If one of my staff told me they couldn't get to work on time because it was too cold to get out of bed, we'd be discussing how they may soon be able to stay in bed all day.

Perfect response.

I live the farthest away of everyone in my office. I have 'never' been late.
I know it takes 45 min to drive there (if all conditions are right and no travel delays). I leave at least 60 min before I have to start.

I would never say 'It was too cold" etc.

 

[eliza61]

Fair enough, I'll explain.

Some people think that if you are not at your desk, you are not working. This isn't the case for me pretty much around the clock as needed. A carbeque is when a car catches fire on the side of the freeway; it happens here often enough.

If I am supposed to be off work at 6, and I'm still there at 9 pm, I STILL have life to do, the dishes, the laundry, etc. So, I tend to do those when I get home late. If I want to stay in another 10 or 15 minutes, I'm okay with this considering the night before I was at work for over 3 hours more than I'm getting paid. I'm also salary and no one tracks my time. Are you psychic? How can you tell when there is going to be a full stop or Sigalert that ISN'T on the news? Some days, I can leave 15 or 20 minutes early and it wouldn't matter. I do live in Los Angeles if that says anything.

If all I had to worry about was one school bus, I'd be happy.

But once again we're talking "chronically". Are you saying that you chronically work 3 hours over time? That's not fair to you either. I recognize some jobs can't follow a set time but neither situation is ideal.

 

[Jennasis]

If one of my staff told me they couldn't get to work on time because it was too cold to get out of bed, we'd be discussing how they may soon be able to stay in bed all day.

Particularly if that person lived in sunny Los Angeles.

I live and work (my full time job) on a farm. I am up to feed our 26 horses every day at 6:30, whether it's 18 degrees or 80. There is no "too cold to get out of bed". I reject that excuse in every single instance.

 

[txSleepingBeauty]

I can't stand people who are late to work. I'm a nurse, so I can't leave until the next shift is there and we're done with report. Officially I'm scheduled for 0645, but can clock in as early as 0638, which I generally do. People have worked for 12 hours and want to go home. Being late is disrespectful.

 

[JanaDee]

If one of my staff told me they couldn't get to work on time because it was too cold to get out of bed, we'd be discussing how they may soon be able to stay in bed all day.