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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?
One day, it’s 10 minutes late. The next, it’s 30 or 50 minutes.
Employee lateness is a widespread problem that managers and business owners often have to deal with. A survey by CareerBuilder found that one in four employees admits to showing up late for work once a month, whereas 13% 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 are frequently or always 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, employee tardiness 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. So if you want to learn more about how to deal with employee tardiness in the workplace and discourage employees from arriving late, keep reading.
Use a time clock.
Wondering how to motivate employees to come to work on time? It may seem old-fashioned or like you’re micromanaging, but a time clock holds people accountable. Employees will feel more compelled to show up on time if they know they’re being monitored with a time-tracking system or time clock. Time-tracking with a time clock or virtual program can help serve as a tool to record when employees check in and out for the workday. Time clocks can also help inform your employees about when they come and go.
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 your 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 time expectations are enforced consistently across all employees—or you could be accused of favoritism or unfair treatment.
Require phone calls.
Make it a requirement that employees who are 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 penalties for being late to work.
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. If you’re wondering how to write up an employee for being late, 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’ll want to consider labor laws on being late for work. 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 you’re not sure how to reprimand an employee for tardiness, you may want to consider discussing it 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. Those who are chronically late will not be rewarded in this program. This could help reinforce 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 chronically late employee.
Wondering how to handle tardy employees? 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’ll 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 a chronically late 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 (119)
I appreciate that there is an action plan. Never,never,ever say “you should leave earlier”. This is an easy way to have a HR nightmare. You will lose as the boss.
I read the article and then many of the comments.
I see a few who feel like timeliness shouldn't be an issue if their work quality is the equivalent of more than one other person. If the job you do is not dependent on you being on time, then I agree, being flexible with start time as an employer may be fine.
We do all of the things suggested in this article. We are very good to our employees in tremendous ways and those in non-time-sensitive roles are not as "managed" on time-related issues but they have to be very productive and get the job done for that to continue to be acceptable.
For an opening associate at a customer facing business has to be on time for the success of the business. For others counting on their teammates to be on time, it's also crucial for the bulk of your employees. Their late behavior impacts the whole team of PEOPLE. That's the difference, when the wonky arrival behavior doesn't affect PEOPLE (teammates, customers) it's usually not as critical.
I want to speak to the timely behavior of non-exempt, hourly, entitled to OT over 40 hours work in an established work week with a well-defined schedule expectation and others who depend on them to be on time for things that materially affect their lives. Where it becomes a problem is when the needs of the business and other teammates depend on timeliness.
Our employee demographic just happens to be heavy in the 19-25 year old range and our positions are production-based.
They all watch tik-tok and hear "act your wage" and advice to do as little as possible to keep your job and no more. A good work ethic is not ingrained into our young people as it was before technology and especially social media.
Our business is primarily customer service on the phone and our service level is high. Our employees, well 99% of them are the absolute best at treating each other well. The problem with tardiness for us lies primarily with those who think they should be able to work when they want without consequences, when there are consequences. It creates issues for workforce management, other team members who have to wait for them to come back from a lunch break for them to go eat or have to wait for someone who starts later to arrive before the earlier person can leave (potentially to retrieve their children or be home when they get home from work). We are far more sensitive to the tardy behavior that negatively affects others and we tell them that in discussions about correcting the attendance behavior.
The repeated tardy behavior directly affects the lives of the people with whom they work side-by-side. We are kind and very service oriented, our values include treating all others with dignity and respect, to be kind and do everything we have the ability to do to help those who need our help, including each other.
Where we have had success is in rewarding those who have great attendance levels (there is a point-based attendance policy with trigger thresholds for corrective discussions).
Department contests with lunch for the department who does best result in temporary improvement.
I had great success with a quarterly breakfast when with another employer, they had an annual breakfast out once a year for those with perfect attendance for the year. By having it catered once a quarter, and posting those invited where others could clearly see seemed to really have a positive effect. In just a little over a year, we went from having a very small representation of employees to almost half of our employees striving for perfect attendance. The height of it was at the cost of about $300-$400 per quarter for a full hot breakfast, gathering in one of our meeting rooms. They loved it.
I'm still struggling with the attitudes sparked from people giving bad advice on social media...just do a search on tiktok for "act your wage" "quiet quitting" "presenteeism" and more. It's a scourge on our society, teaching those we are hiring now to be just good enough not to get fired but costing their employers a lot. I haven't found the perfect answer. A contest or reward system has been the most successful for me.
I completely agree regarding the young with "quiet quitting" and "act your wage". The young don't seem to have the same work ethic - this is totally over generalizing, I know. What I find frustrating is that universities teach their students this - they can stroll into class late and they actually have name for it "name of prestigious university in CA-late", and it's well known throughout the area. This is embarrassing and frustrating - universities that condone poor work ethic. This is why I'd rather hire from our local community colleges with more mature attitudes, not just about timeliness either.
Office Manager here! We have seen great results with incentives. We give punctuality and attendance bonuses quarterly to our staff. During that monthly staff meeting we announce who got the bonus. We have recently noticed an influx of tardiness due to a sinkhole on a main highway. We handle this case by case. Some employees are able to leave earlier, some can not, due to many factors including childcare and drop off times ect. I have seen staff members resent their coworker due to the lack of discipline given to habitually late employees or even just by a lack of urgency as they walk in late. I think a lot more grace is given if the employee is simply considerate or remorseful when late. That goes a long way!
As someone who struggles with chronic lateness, I wanted to share my perspective and experiences, which might add another dimension to the discussion.
My situation is unique in that my boss is aware of the personal reasons behind my tardiness. He doesn't support it but doesnt condone it. However, I recognize that this has caused some concern regarding how my behavior might be perceived by other employees who are unaware of my circumstances.
One potential solution I’ve considered is formalizing a change in my work hours. By officially adjusting my start time, it could help mitigate any negative perceptions and provide a clear framework for my work schedule.
I often work well over 40 hours a week, including taking calls and responding to emails outside of regular office hours. This commitment to my job goes beyond the typical 9-to-5 schedule, and I believe it highlights my dedication and productivity, despite my late arrivals. Unfortunately, this extra effort isn’t always documented, which means my boss and colleagues might not fully realize the extent of my contributions.
Your article’s emphasis on recognizing and rewarding punctuality and dedication could be expanded to include acknowledging employees who go above and beyond, regardless of their start times. By appreciating the overall value an employee brings, employers can foster a more holistic understanding of productivity and commitment.
I think each individuals lateness should be discussed personally. My boss once told me that you look at the strengths of individuals and compare it to their workness and put them where there will be strong suit for the business. Yes I am late daily but I would work for him 7 days a week or I can work equal to 3 other workers. What best benefits the business or is it a complete hardship? That is the bottom answer.
I, too am a chronic lateness employee. I'm the no excuse, but always 3-5 minutes after the fact. I've tried the schedule changes, gotten write ups, fired from one job. Incentives don't excite me. Time is just a low priority issue for me. My work is impeccable, rarely absent, I go above and beyond, catch on quick and usually finish ahead of schedule. When I did shift work, if I completed what I was assigned ahead of time, I would ask if they didnt have any more work for me, if they wanted me to clock out, not because I was ready to go, but my thought was me being off the clock would save them a couple dollars. I am at a job now where as long as the work is completed, its all good. Could I be making more money? A little, but the peace of mind regarding the time is everything.
IMO the answer to most workplace problems is to pay your employees a living wage and create an environment which encourages them to actually care. Sure, implementing time/task tracking modules is a great way to help people with time-blindness, but it can't solve overall terrible management and negative work environment. If a person is struggling to make ends meet, struggling with mental health, and also in an unbearable work environment, getting out of bed might be the hardest part of the day.
I'm not saying people should just get away with being late, but please be considerate and create real solutions instead of micromanaging and piling on even more issues until the employee mentally cracks, becomes burnt out, or resigns.
It's really no wonder employees no longer feel any type of pride or loyalty towards their employers.
Thank you for posting this, it came at just the right time. We have a few employees that get here 1-5 min. late at least once a week. Other employees get frustrated and have even said rude comments to the employees. I am trying to figure out the best way to go about handling this. We live in Southern Ca and the traffic can be very unpredictable so at one point I want to say its just 2 min late its understandable. The other point I want to ask for them to leave earlier to account for traffic. Do you find other business have a policy for 1-5 min late or is generally acceptable and policy's should be set for anything more then 15 min late like mentioned in the other comments?
In my experience, 1-5 minutes tardy is generally overlooked (unless it is a frequent thing). That could be due to hitting every intersection with the light showing red on your way in, or getting behind somebody that is going super slow in an area that does not have a passing lane. If somebody is just trying to game the system and get paid for 5 minutes on not working, and you come down on them for being tardy, they will often find other ways to accomplish the same thing, ie surfing the internet, chatting with a co-worker, taking a personal phone call, etc. Still, if it is a legitimate tardiness or a recurring one, you could recommend the employee leave home 5 minutes earlier each day to avoid being late.
As a supervisor, I do expect my employees to work what they say they work. I am fortunate in that I can allow most of my employees flexibility in their start time. If they get here 10 minutes late, they are expected to be here 10 minutes later than normal to make up for that time, or they need to reflect the missed time on their daily time card.
Suggest that their pay check arrive as late as they do. "you know how we always pay you on time . . . we're going to modify that to mirror your lateness. When you return to being on time, we'll pay you on time. If you're unable to learn how to be on time, we'll likely end your paycheck and employment. Do we understand each other?"
I've done this as a leader. It works.
Tardiness is a tough issue, especially if it’s your best retail sales person that took you 3 months to train, and finding quaiified replacements is extremely difficult. I like the attendance award gift cards, but I also read that gift cards should be considered taxable income. Is there a way to get around that?
If you work in retail I can see why being punctual is important. In small businesses, good finance and accounting professionals are hard to find. They all want to work for large companies with nice benefits. Good luck in being strict, no one will want to work for you. Even large companies are looking the other way when it comes to being punctual.
This old mentality is not a good fit if employee retention is important for your biz.
I do not have set hours, but I have my own set goals regarding when I should arrive at work. I'm a part-time employee and have budgeted hours each week. Trying to not go over my hours and show up "bright and early" conflict. However, if I'm not in the office by 9/9:30 each morning, this overwhelming guilt rides over me. The majority of my coworkers are full-time employees, so I do feel as I am slacking when I show up at noon as to not go over my hours. C'est la vie.