One day, it’s 10 minutes. The next, it’s 30—or 50.
Whether it’s bad traffic, oversleeping or caring for a sick pet, employees offer up lots of different excuses when they show up late for work. As the manager, you may overlook it the first time. But what if it becomes a pattern?
Employee lateness is a widespread problem. A 2016 survey by CareerBuilder found that one in four employees admits to showing up late for work once a month, whereas 13 percent of employees say it’s a weekly occurrence. Managers say they hear all sorts of excuses: “A black bear entered my carport and decided to take a nap on the hood of my car.” “I was detained by Homeland Security.” “My hair caught on fire from my blow dryer.”
Employees who rarely arrive late to work should probably be given the benefit of the doubt—as there are valid reasons for being late. (Tires really do go flat!) But it’s generally in a manager’s best interest to confront employees who frequently—or always—show up late.
Late employees can reduce business productivity, especially if they aren’t making up for lost work time at the end of their shifts. Moreover, it hurts the morale and work ethic of other employees who might resent that the late arrivers aren’t getting called out or disciplined for their lateness. It might even encourage other employees to start showing up late to work if they see no consequence for the bad behavior.
But don’t despair. Businesses have many opportunities to boost the odds that employees will show up when they’re supposed to. Here are ways to discourage employees from arriving late, as well as how to deal with those who regularly do:
Use a time clock.
It may seem old-fashioned or like you’re micromanaging, but a time clock holds people accountable. It not only records when employees check in and out for the workday, but it also lets them know that you know when they come and go.
Employees will feel more compelled to show up on time if they know they’re being monitored.
Companies can buy a physical time clock that requires employees to punch in and out each day or, if the employees work at computers, time-tracking software can be installed that records when employees log in and out of their workstation.
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Schedule a staff meeting first thing in the day.
Even if it’s a quick five-minute “check-in,” if employees know they are required to attend an all-hands-on-deck meeting with the boss first thing in the workday, they will have good reason to show up on time—or face questions about why they were absent.
Be clear and consistent about the rules.
If you’re not actively communicating that you expect employees to show up on time, they may think you don’t care if they’re late.
Make sure the employee handbook spells out the expectations about work hours and arriving on time and remind employees of those expectations on a regular basis, such as in staff meetings. Also, make sure the rules are enforced consistently across all employees—or you could be accused of favoritism or unfair treatment.
Having an established way to track lateness—such as using a time clock—can help ensure that consistency.
Require phone calls.
Make it a requirement that employees who are running more than 15 minutes late must call into the office. Employees are less likely to show up late if they know they have to discuss it with someone.
Institute consequences for lateness.
Depending on your workplace culture and Federal and state employment laws, you may want to create penalties for employees who show up late to work more than, say, once per month. It could start with a warning letter or email, but if that doesn’t work, you might require them to make up for missed work time at the end of their shifts.
You might consider docking employees’ pay for tardiness but you would have to tread carefully. Many states allow employers to dock the pay of employees classified as nonexempt—those who qualify for overtime pay when they work more than 40 hours per week—as long as those employees are given advance written notice of penalties. Salaried employees classified as exempt—meaning they do not qualify for overtime pay—cannot generally have their pay docked under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act rules.
Also, an employee’s paycheck cannot generally be docked if their hourly wage would effectively drop below their state’s minimum wage by doing so.
Of course, any time you create penalties, there can be concerns of unfair treatment. Make sure the consequences of tardiness are spelled out clearly in advance in writing, such as in the employee handbook. Then carefully and consistently enforce those rules as required by law.
Make punctuality part of the employee performance review and compensation.
If being on time is essential to doing a good job, make it official by evaluating employees for their timeliness in their annual performance review. Perhaps even make it a performance goal for employees who frequently have trouble showing up on time.
By formalizing it as part of the review process, there should be no question that it’s an important part of their performance evaluation.
Timeliness can also be factored into their compensation. Consider tying punctuality to the raises or bonuses. For example, employees who are never late may receive an extra bonus amount, whereas those who are late more than once per month or week receive little or no bonus.
Create a reward program for punctual employees.
Offer rewards—whether an extra day off or a $50 gift certificate to a popular restaurant—for employees who show up on time to work every day for, say, six months straight. This reinforces that being punctual is a key workplace goal.
However, you will need to track punctuality carefully if you’re offering such rewards to avoid being accused of errors or favoritism.
Talk directly to the persistently late employee.
Once you’ve tried hands-off approaches to encouraging punctuality, you may still have an employee or two who pushes the envelope on punctuality. In these situations, you need a more direct approach.
Sit down privately with the employee. Let them know you’ve noticed they’ve been regularly late to work and ask them to explain why. (It’s possible they have a personal reason, such as caring for a child before the school day—in which case it may make sense to discuss setting a different work schedule for that employee or creating another workaround.)
Stress to the employee the importance of punctuality to the business’ success and to being part of the team. Remind them that employees are required to arrive to work on time.
Ask them to come up with an action plan for arriving to work on time. Rather than enforcing penalties, it can be more effective to make the employee responsible for correcting their behaviors. They know better than you do why they are persistently late to work, so they are better positioned to find a solution.
Ultimately—if all other strategies fail—you may have to consider taking more severe measures with an employee who doesn’t respect your punctuality rules. If the employee underperforms due to their lateness and continues to show up late, you might consider whether that employee is worth keeping around altogether.
Remember that a manager’s job is keeping employees motivated to work hard—and an employee who consistently breaks the rules is only going to hurt morale.
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View Comments (71)
This article was very informative and helpful. Dealing with employees within itself is difficult.
it gave me an insight on how to talk in a positive manner when dealing with late and sometimes difficult employees.
Thank you for your feedback, Stella!
Never ever force any employee too much to come early....Often it leads to rush in the road and accidents.
Nothing happens if someone is little late everyday.
Better late than never.
Good point!
As an employee, is my responsibility to manage my time and not to make excuses for my tardiness. Rules and times are there for us to follow. If something does not work, talk to your employer, but don't make excuses. If we want to be trusted, being on time is big.
Here is where time management is very useful. I make sure I am on time every day by waking up at 4:30am, working out, fixing my breakfast, packing my lunch and then getting ready. I am out the door by 7am. My start time is at 7:30am but I am always at work by 7:15. The latest I've been is 7:28 if traffic is bad. My employer knows that am reliable and they can count on me being on time.
If you treat your time like money, you will not be wasting it. Just figure what works best for you, but don't fall in to being late to work.
Great points, Mila!
Lots of things happen when an employee is late, especially everyday! That person cannot be counted on, has no respect for their job or co-workers and no sense of responsibility. It is such a drain on co-workers picking up the slack and for management to try and curtail that behavior. Habitual tardiness leads up to hours per week of non-productiveness. It's selfish and immature to be habitually tardy.
Gaurab Das - Agreed! So what if someone's a little late as long as they accurately keep track of their time? Not everyone is a morning person. I'd rather my employee get to work safely and in good spirits rather than rushing, possibly causing an accident, and then being cranky about it all.
This does not allow an apples to apples comparison because it assumes that each employee at the workplace has similar commute distances and obstacles. I commute 43 miles one-way, which is much more than most of my co-workers. My rank-and-file coworkers have commutes of 15 miles or less. Furthermore, it is perfectly acceptable for my supervisor and her supervisor to frequently show up late, and they also commute 30 to 40 miles one way.
It is unacceptable to expect more from your employees than you do of yourselves but I guess that management hypocrisy is not the subject of this article.
Requiring me to be "rigidly on time" (8:00 am without a 7 minute grace period) forces me to drive excessively fast on the freeway and put myself and other drivers in danger. The nature of my work is independent and being up to one hour late does not affect other employees UNLESS a meeting is scheduled and I cannot attend because I was late.
Otherwise, a blind adherence to being to work on-time is corporate fascism.
There really is almost no reason to be late for work or anything else for that matter. I'll bet if you won the lottery and had to be there by 8:00am to collect, you wouldn't be late. In fact, you would be early. Just depends on how important it is. If work is not important you will be late. Winning the lottery you will be early. Then again if you won the lottery 365 days per year you might end up late by the end of the year. Many people don't realize just having a job is like winning the lottery.
Thanks for sharing!
Simple solution, leave 5 minutes early. If traffic is a known issue, factor that into commute time. It is not a crime to arrive early. If you worked for me I would congratulate you on job performance, but eliminate you from weekly bonus pool. Over time you would either grow up or let your attitude get you fired.
Arriving early is always a good option. Thanks for sharing!
It short and simple. It's your decision to wake up late and arrive late. Be responsible and manage your time appropriately to avoid having to rush. You have no idea what the other coworkers/employees have going on in their lives, you can not compare your situation to theirs. Stop worrying about what other people are doing and worry about yourself. Get to work on time and hustle, it makes you look better than them in the long run. Bottom line.. there is no excuse to be late that often.
Thanks for commenting, Dina!
I don’t care if you live 100 miles away from work each way. You know your life pattern, and the obstacles that you may face during your commute, and the time it takes you to get there. You are able to adjust your lifestyle to get there safely and accordingly to your schedule.
If you knew you would have a longer commute than others when you decided to live farther from work than most, that is your problem not your companies or co-workers
Try taking responsibility for yourself and wake up earlier!!
I worked at a pharmacy where we had to wait outside until the pharmacist/manager got to work to let us in. He was perpetually late by as much as ten minutes, so if I arrived on time, I had to wait outside and deal with aggravated customers, sometimes in the dead of winter. Mind you, he was not the owner, simply the manager. I tend to run last minute anyway, but his behavior sure made it hard to want to be punctual. And then when he did my review, he had the nerve to chastise me for being late! I say practice what you preach and set a good example for your underlings. Oh, and by the way, I did stay late to make up for my time.
Thanks for the comment, Jeanette!
In response to Robert Messenger.
I could not disagree more.
The commute time is actually irrelevant. Even if you live just a few minutes from your job it won't stop accidents, slow moving vehicles or vehicle breakdowns from adding to your commute time. I once got stuck behind two snow plows that were blocking both lanes of traffic in the direction I needed to go to get to work. It added 10 minutes to my normally 6 minute drive. But that was the exception NOT the norm. If you know your route and know how long it normally takes you can plan for things like that and still arrive on time. In bad weather you can also tack on some extra time to make sure you can drive for the conditions. But to say that someone asking you to be on time forces you to speed? No. That is just bad planning on your part.
I deal with people that are perpetually late on my job. The unfortunate thing though is that it is shift work and I can't leave until they get there, Sure they all have a seemingly good excuse. But why is it that I can deal with the loss of a pet, little to no sleep, sick family members, bad weather, no vehicle for weeks at a time, illness and stress in my personal life and STILL manage to make it to work on time?
This is very interesting that employee should call in the office when he/ she is late because when it is known that that employee is not punctual this will make him/her be ashamed and never make it a habit even though there is an understandable reason for being late.
As an employer I do understand accidents and tell my employees not to rush, but when an employee is late 3/6 days and they walk in with Starbucks or Wawa coffee it gets old. They are usually repeat offenders and the "poor me" excuse is hard on everyone especially the owner that has to be responsible for picking up the slack! BE ADULT PEOPLE AND STOP WITH THE REPETATIVE EXCUSES- LEAVE EARLIER.
When a person accepts a position, they should be aware of their own commute commitment. If it doesn't work with their ability to meet the obligation, they should not accept the job. That is part of being a responsible person, knowing what they're committing to before they commit.
For me as a supervisor, it is not entirely about punctuality. An employee who completes assignments works when they are at work, and is reliable in all other ways is not a burden when they are a few minutes late or even have lots of appointments to take care of and manage them well.
Employees who are as the article describes, 5 minutes to hours late in an ever-increasing or unpredictable manner are a disturbance, a stressor for me, and a strain for the whole team. It's not fair to their teammates to let it slide. Also, it tends to become contagious. Employees observe one another as much as we observe them. "Equal is not always fair", and whether a person is on the spectrum, depressed, in a wheelchair or average in every way, all I ask is that they be a team player. Stressing out your bosses, by being chronically late and slacking off on the job is not good team behavior. My late husband was on the spectrum and in a wheelchair. He was never late despite severe weather and a long commute. He did what needed to be done to fulfill his commitments.
I offer many supports, training, and alternative schedules to every chronic employee. But most often this personality doesn't absorb or care to use these options anyway, so I end up wasting a lot of money and time trying to be supportive. I myself am a single mother with two children, working full-time, taking care of a home and cars, and my own health issues. So, I have many opportunities for excuses, but I made a commitment to my team and my work. If I can persevere, most of these people could too. They choose not to. It's selfish behavior.
Thank you for sharing your insights! Excellent points.
Totally agree with you!! I am a single mom also a manager too.
I'm still trying to figure out how to be nice and not to be manipulated by employees who are always late for work><
A "chronic employee"! I know what you meant, but this phrase caught my attention. I was a chronic employee once. To overcome my chronic employment, I quit and started my own company! I hope to never be a chronic employee again.
I'm late to work all the time. Sometimes it's because of traffic or accidents or bad weather. Sometimes it's because I was worked to death the day before and didn't have time to recover sufficiently before the next shift.
But to be honest, I just don't give a shit when I get to work. I show up everyday I'm scheduled to work. I've always had a relaxed attitude toward time and I'm no hypocrite, either. I don't trip if someone is late; I just get on with getting my work done.
In my line of work (nursing homes) someone is always late, calls off or is a no call no show. Hey, it happens. I just don't let it affect my job; I still get everything done.
I don't care for managers who harp on punctuality, especially in a place where people can't even be counted on to come to work in the first place. I've quit jobs when managers kept making a big deal about the time I get to work. They stand by the door or watch the clock and then waste even more of my time bitching about my tardiness. I once walked in the door about 15 minutes late. The manager was standing by the door and looking at the clock. As soon as I walked in the door, she started in on me.
I stood there for about three minutes while she ranted; I simply turned around and left. I got back in my car and left. The next day, I went to work like nothing happened. I never heard another word about it.
My first job out of college when I had to clock in at 7:42 every day (and this was OK because quitting time was 4:22 after a 30 min lunch break at noon), I just left my house at 6:30 and arrived at my desk, usually as early as 7:15, drank my coffee and read the paper for 1/2 hour. I was always the first one there, always before my super, but rarely was I ever late.
Scenario #1: I'm a business owner that depends on my employees consistently arriving on-time to work. When they are late, it wastes my time as an employer when I've scheduled work, I have to postpone appointments with clients, which tarnishes my reputation for being dependable, and it may take an hour for the late employee to get their head in the game once they finally get there. I attribute consistent tardiness to either (a) a sense of entitlement by the employee--their life situations are more important that keeping their job; (b) they have a learning disorder that affects their ability to assess time and space; (c) they just dont care, and have expected others to always pick up the slack when they mess up; (d) they have personal problems at home that affect other areas of their life. They become undependable.
SCENARIO #2: they have a job where schedule is fluid--working from home; completing tasks by certain deadlines; on-call positions that depend on availability rather than punching a time clock. If the employee is not performing or completing their tasks on time, there is a concern as to whether they are a good fit for the job.
I have learned to be somewhat flexible, with the understanding that good communication is imperative. If someone is late, call in to prepare me so I can plan around it--that's just common human etiquette. It's reasonable to have rules in place if someone is over 20 minutes late, their pay should reflect their lack of time on the job. Consistent tardiness may result in the termination of a position, or a restriction to any bonuses, raises, or other perks that punctual employees deserve.
Great insights! Thank you for the comment.
I am in charge of our creative communications team. Having more than 30 years of experience in both private and public fields and have been in my current position for 3 years.
I am continually shocked and surprised at my subordinate's attitude to basic professional behaviour. I refuse to blame it all on 'Millennial' attitude.
It is not cool to be perpetually late for work - its sloppy and disrespectful. And it certainly affects my opinion of the staff member in question.
It is not a ok to release documents which contain spelling and/or syntax errors - when I pointed out a spelling on a Facebook post to one of my communicators recently she responded - 'Oh it's not so serious, its Facebook' I was frankly shocked.
To those of you such as Shannon above - remember that your current supervisor is also the person who will be contacted for a reference when you change jobs, I have no problem being truthful when giving references, no matter how much I think our team will be improved by releasing someone from our service.
At some point tardy time keeping, negative attitude and general apathy to rules and expected bahaviours become part of one's operational outputs. In other words your behaviour becomes the quality of the work you do. And that is why adherence to professional behaviours and norms are attractive in employees, to me it means that I can trust you to apply the same quality to your work.
I Mohamed disagree with statements about commute the person applied for the job there for should now what the commute is to get to work on time. If they can not get to work on time and trying to use commute as an excuse find a job closer to home. These employees that can't get to work on time need to figure out there life and not hold us to there poor expectations. This is 2020 they need to grow up and pull your pants up and get to work on time bottom line.
Regards Mohamed