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Just curious has anyone ever been late to work due to traffic reasons? is it a good excuse?
What if an accident happens on the road, you forgot something at home, or maybe you need to go to the DMV real quick?
I think this depends on where you live. I live in Los Angeles. I once spent 3 hours driving the 9 miles to work (after a storm when 1/2 a mountain slid into the roadway and trees fell down all around). Once in awhile, there is nothing you can do about it. But you really can't blame traffic if you are late every day.
I deal with a lot of traffic. I usually give myself a cushion and since I work at night, I usually don't have to worry too much. I do have to drive around twenty-five miles but there is really only one way for me to get there. However, sometimes it just drives me nuts trying to get to work on time.
-Last year, I was late to work a few times because they had roaming pot hole repairs, where they would just randomly drive along, stop, close two lanes of traffic and start filling pot holes. You had no idea where they would be (and I am talking in all of NYC they were doing this) and I would try to check the traffic map starting at 9:30 PM, but sometimes by the time it's updated it's already built up. If I caught the traffic in time, I knew where I could get on and off but this didn't always work.
-Sometimes they'll put up a sign telling you when roadwork will be starting, from 10:00 PM to 5:00 AM. So I leave a little early that day only to find out they actually closed the road MUCH earlier than 10:00 PM. Gah.
-I've been stuck in massive delays from accidents or trucks that aren't allowed on the road. The have to shut down the entire parkway and you're stuck.
All that being said, considering how I live further away than everyone else at work, I am still on time more often than many people who live close by. I am probably late a few times per year, which I hate because I can't STAND being late.
A traffic accident with road blockage so you can't get through.............yes.
Heavy traffic but no accident.......................................... ................no.
Allow yourself sufficient time to get there EARLY, not at exactly the time you are scheduled, but EARLY.
We had a new hire who was habitually late and one day I said to her "You know you were supposed to be here at 8 and now it is 5 after ?" Her response was "Tell that to traffic !" They finally sat her down and told her she needed to shape up, and she has been pretty good since then.
I'm curious as to why the OP thinks traffic issues are not a valid reason for being late to work. I say that because why else ask this question.
I have seen plenty of people get held up by traffic or accidents and it's never been an issue for being late to work, as long as you let someone know about the holdup.
Exactly. There are normal traffic delays you can anticipate, and then there's those unexpected nightmare crashes that close down freeways and you you're stuck for hours. Not much you can do about those.
Every now and then the traffic is unusually bad due to unexpected reasons. These are rare but happen. In this case, it's acceptable to be late. You might have to explain yourself, but it is acceptable.
If it happens frequently (more than once/month), then that's a big problem.
The we only 'excuse' a tardy is if there really was an accident that held up traffic for a long period of time and if there were others who were also stuck in traffic. We do not excuse a 'I couldn't find parking' tardy...leave earlier or park in the back lot and walk. The last part went over like a ton of bricks. lol (it goes without saying that both of these tardies are documented in case it becomes a behavioral issue)
We have a defined 'season' here and every year the same people think they can use traffic/parking as an excuse to be late. Anyone who's lived here more than 2 yrs knows that come Oct you need to leave your house 15-20 earlier than normal because of the snowbirds on the road and in the parking lot.
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