"It's a huge drain on productivity when meetings consistently start 10 or 15 minutes behind, and tardiness has a snowball effect as one person's lateness affects the productivity of his or her colleagues" ...
05 March, 2007
Chronic Lateness Is a Pervasive and Expensive Problem, But It Can Be Tackled
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Not to mention...it's just plain rude. I will probably get flogged for this, but being from Los Angeles, where business is done on a more professional level, I was really amazed when I got here how people make appointments and then either fail to show up, or show up late with no phone call saying they were running late.
And, the offenders are mostly locals and then Arab expats. This would not be tolerated in other business circles, as it shows a lack of respect.
However, I have gotten the group that I deal with most of the time to get on the schedule of showing up on time, calling if running late and returning phone calls, something else they are not good about here.
If you set a standard and expect everyone else to do the same thing AND treat them respectfully, they change, But it does not seem to start out that way here.
one thing i have to say, perhaps aligned with this post, perhaps with no connection...
since when was a mobile phone call from a number you don't know more impostant than a meeting with 6 plus clients, or a group of collegues? Sorry, but this happens all the time and it's really bad time management...
The article (from the US) would suggest that lateness is not just cultural--it's human. The article tries to identify specific reasons for lateness and that is probably helpful for each person to do, rather than just label the latecomer as this or that. We've all been late before--we all can do something to improve in this regard.
My favourite is the 'just come any time' response when you ask for a meeting. You then nail down a specific time, yet the team you wanted to visit is then out for the days when you arrive. Grrr!
A Lifetime of Lateness. Sigh.
I am cursed.
But again just a statistic.
I agree with B.D. that anyone can be late. It has surely happened to us all. Heavy traffic, being directed to the wrong venue, unexpected puncture, document not arrived, Outlook(TM) crashed and killed your entire diary. These are all reasons, and should be followed by contacting those waiting with an apology and a revised arrival estimate.
It is inexcusable in my view simply to drift into the meeting, or fail to show up at all, purely on the selfish basis that "I'm more important than you and am therefore entitled to make you wait."
I believe that the problems of unpunctuality have been made worse in recent years by the ubiquitous mobile phone. In the olden days, having agreed to meet at noon in the lounge of the Goat & Compasses, you'd have to be there more or less on time. Nowadays, meeting plans can be varied at the drop of a Nokia.
At my aunt's funeral her minister said in his eulogy that this was the first time she'd been on time for anything.
okay so since we all agree that we can't help being late can we have some good excuses for the evil boss?
the truth is NEVER agreeable to them...
come on guys lets brainstorm here!!
i've been late everyday this entire week!! this is a plea for help!
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