Is it OK to be late?
It often happens that people do not show up on the meetings or appointments on the right time. Being late for 2 minutes, 5 minutes or even a quarter of an hour is widely accepted. In many cases people accept others coming late as they frequently do not arrive on the right time either. If being late is a frequent practice in a company, then it may be accepted in the organizational culture, everyone will regard it as a normal practice and people start thinking that if a meeting is scheduled at 10 AM then it actually starts at 10.10 AM.
What is be the cost of being late? It can be estimated by giving the time a monetary value. Let’s assume that individual’s hourly wage is $24. If we add labor taxes and other overhead costs then employing that person may cost a company a double of it, $48. So 10 minutes of his/her time costs one sixth of it, which is $8. If there are 10 people participating in a meeting then delaying the start of it because of the late arrivers will cost the company $80. If there is a meeting each week then it will cost the company $4,000 per year. If this happens in a board of directors meeting where the wage cost could be for example 10 times higher, then the yearly cost of people being late will be $40,000.
Why people are late? Most people actually consider being late a bad thing, but they are careless in their time management and therefore they do not do much for avoiding it. If the meeting takes place in the same building where people work, then the causes of being late may be being late with other work tasks, drinking coffee or chatting with co-workers. It often happens that people do not notice how fast the time flies and that the starting time of a meeting has already passed, while they are still in their office. If the participants need to commute to the meeting then traffic jams are a common problem for being late. People tend to be optimistic about the commuting time, but they can get stuck in heavy traffic and be not able to arrive on time. It may also happen that individuals’ daily schedules are too intensely packed with activities, which causes time trouble in keeping up with their plans.
How can we avoid being late? First, everyone should start from themselves. We have to commit ourselves for not being late. Why should we do it? Besides the fact the fact that it will save the other peoples and companies time and money it will allow you to gain respect from the others. If you create an image of an always on time person then it is easier for you to stand out from the others, impress your boss and gain promotion. This image will increase your influence on the meeting and your arguments will be taken more seriously.
Good time management will help you arrive on time. Avoid over-stuffing your daily schedule. It is wise to leave a short gap in your schedule before the start of the meeting. Leaving a 10 minute buffer can be very useful. If you have to commute then leave your destination early. You can get stuck in traffic. If possible then avoid scheduling the tasks, which duration you cannot control, before the start of the meeting.
If you are always on time then you give an example to the others. If you are not late then other people may also start arriving on time. If everyone is arriving on time regularly then nobody wants to be the one who is late.
Subscribe to RSS feed
My name is Kristjan-Olari Leping. I am a speed reading trainer. I have an associated professor position at the University of Tartu, am a policy analyst in a policy research center, I am a trainer and I am involved in many other business projects. 