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I live in Los Angeles where traffic can make you 10 minutes late, 10 minutes early or 30 minutes late the next day. My boss was very big on being at your desk at 9am sharp and frequently told people that were habitually late that they are expected to be at their desk at 9am and he meant at the desk working not in the buildng getting coffee, talking to people etc. He threatened to fire or write up a bunch of people but never did. Finally one of the "habitually" 5-10 minute late people went to HR and filed a complaint and HR said that 15 minute leeway for traffic is reasonable and that the boss was "harassing" employees.
A guy I worked with had a wonderful saying, it goes............."If you aren't 15 minutes early, you are late." I am always early, get my stuff put away, and get ready to hit the floor at the time I am scheduled. When I see someone else strolling in 5 minutes or more late, it really upsets me because all companies run thin on help these days and we all depend on everyone being there on time to do their share of the work. It would be unfair to my coworkers to not be there when scheduled.
This was my daughter's orchestra leader's favorite saying in high school, and she laughed to herself when her college orchestra professor made a point of the same thing the first day of her freshman year. As far as he was concerned, class began on the dot, there was far too much material to cover, and that meant that you were sitting in your chair, your instrument was in your hands, and your music was on the stand. Imagine waiting for 25-30 people to wander in, then step over everyone to get to their chair, then uppack, warm-up, etc. What a colossal waste of time and distraction. The second class period, someone came in late, obviously having overslept. The professor stopped the entire class (so now everyone is staring at him), motioned him to the front of the class, asked his name, scribbled it on a piece of paper, handed him a drop/add slip, and told him to take it to admin. (a la "The Paper Chase"), because he would not be continuing in that class any longer.
the boss likely owns a home near the work place as he was likely there when prices were cheap and makes 2-3 times what the new guy makes where as the new guy has to live 45 min away. Makes a big difference when his commute is 5-10 min and the new guys is 45 min to an hour. The devil is always in the details, its easier to put on a show (being there warming your seat on the dot) when you have more leverage and advantages.
the boss likely owns a home near the work place as he was likely there when prices were cheap and makes 2-3 times what the new guy makes where as the new guy has to live 45 min away. Makes a big difference when his commute is 5-10 min and the new guys is 45 min to an hour. The devil is always in the details, its easier to put on a show (being there warming your seat on the dot) when you have more leverage and advantages.
Not true.
At least in my experience "bosses" often live out in the suburbs (Long Island, New Jersey, Westchester, etc..), and still managed to arrive into Manhattan, NYC before 9AM or whenever they are supposed to be in their office.
OTOH have worked with people who lived in Manhattan just twenty or thirty blocks from mid-town office and were late all the time. It all comes down to discipline
At least in my experience "bosses" often live out in the suburbs (Long Island, New Jersey, Westchester, etc..), and still managed to arrive into Manhattan, NYC before 9AM or whenever they are supposed to be in their office.
OTOH have worked with people who lived in Manhattan just twenty or thirty blocks from mid-town office and were late all the time. It all comes down to discipline
I have heard of these types before and often times this sort of "discipline" results in a heart attack during a meeting and they are carried out on a stretcher. Its one thing to maintain this kind of tempo for a few years (think military etc) but doing it for a whole career is untenable unless you are just wired that way from birth. Either that or their home life is on the rocks because there is only so much time in a day and if you are going to be the star jester (notice I did not say star perfomer because performance and punctuality are not the same) at work it means home life suffers. It means they are having to go to bed super early and compress family time down in order to ensure they can beat the traffic, EVERY - SINGLE - DAY and it shows they look aged and tired all the time. It also means they are not taking any/very little time to do professional development (PMP, masters degree, professional certifications, cisco, etc) because those things are also a draw on your personal time if the company is not supporting it and just because the company is too cheap to sponsor it does not mean its a good idea to not do it for your own marketability.
now if your late in excess of an hour then just don't bill it or work over, done deal, no dog and pony show needed.
Our sales reps were come and go , show or don't show...extremely lenient on time management.
Once I got reprimanded for being late to work. With pen in hand they had my write up ready. What stopped them? A State Trooper who escorted me to my job.
My Boss laughed about that for months to come.
Never mind all the years that they conveniently didn't pay for overtime for company events that took place in the evening and I was required to attend . This job was hourly wage.
We nicknamed our boss the Madhatter because he was notorious for being late. He seriously thought himself most important and ppl could wait....Til one time a Client tossed him out of his office for being late. He lost a 100k deal from being 15 minutes late. He continues to this day being late....and it costs ...both deals and the companys' reputation. Those who make the rules...seem to break the rules....
So much facepalm in this thread. I think everyone agree that obvious positions (production lines, retail, cust svc, logistics etc) and workplace events (meetings, clients etc) demand punctuality...so lets skip those.
Now lets talk about everything else, where many office workers can fall into. Worker A is a punctual 0850 to 1700, with a daily avg productivity of 100 widgets. Worker B casually rolls in anywhere from 0900 to 1000, heck, even leaves early, but has a daily avg of 120 widgets. Who would you rather employ? You'd be surprised many would choose A. In my management experience (especially the ever useless middle-mgt), people that tend to be time nazis are only serving their own ego. Its a very short sided, ignorant view upon workplace productivity. Everyone has a different style of accomplishing the workplace goals. It takes a holistic viewpoint of what actually adds value.
Why would you tolerate working for free, I don't go to any after work events unless they really sweeten the pot and even then if I have other family issues I simply wont go. If I got fired over it then I guess I would look for a new job lol.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nov3
Our sales reps were come and go , show or don't show...extremely lenient on time management.
Once I got reprimanded for being late to work. With pen in hand they had my write up ready. What stopped them? A State Trooper who escorted me to my job.
My Boss laughed about that for months to come.
Never mind all the years that they conveniently didn't pay for overtime for company events that took place in the evening and I was required to attend . This job was hourly wage.
We nicknamed our boss the Madhatter because he was notorious for being late. He seriously thought himself most important and ppl could wait....Til one time a Client tossed him out of his office for being late. He lost a 100k deal from being 15 minutes late. He continues to this day being late....and it costs ...both deals and the companys' reputation. Those who make the rules...seem to break the rules....
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Many of my non-exempt employees take public transportation to work, which we encourage (and subsidize). There are times when a bus is delayed, or it goes by a stop when full, so people are late bu 5-10 minutes. I really have no problem with it as long as they make it up by staying later. When it becomes habitual, I will talk to them about changing their starting time. Currently I have people coming in at 7:00, 7:30, 8:15, 9:00 and 9:30. By allowing different start times tardiness is very rare.
10 minutes per day adds up to 50 minutes a week. That's almost an hour.
My boss goes ballistic if someone is habitually late
Wow. I'm glad I do not work in your environment that sounds terrible. I am a mechanical engineer. Here people arrive anywhere from 5 AM to 9 AM there is no set rule - but you are expected to get your work done. Some weeks you get it done in 40 some weeks you get it done in 60. No one is watching over you. We always hire people that are self starters and can be relied upon to finish their assignments independently. In other words, grown-ups.
Last edited by GearHeadDave; 08-01-2016 at 02:05 PM..
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