I’m never late for work. I was never late for work when I was in my 20’s either. My parents were always early for everything. It was ingrained in me to be on time.
Is being late a generational thing, cultural thing, or personal thing?
Just under half of Americans (48 percent) claim they are never late for work while one in five arrive late at least once a week, according to a YouGov poll. The least punctual workers in the United States tend to be millennials – 22 percent of them admitted they arrive late to work at least once a week. Older workers are the most reliable when it comes to reaching the office on time. 55 percent of respondents aged 55 and older said they never arrive late for work.
You will find more statistics at Statista
Okay to put in context, this poll (which I hardly take as fact – like any gov’t poll) also shows that
– people 55 and over are late at least once a week (15%)
– Gen X’s are (18%)
Yeah, marginally different according to the poll.
But who cares if they’re on time or late – millenials are such “bare minimum” workers. One click away from being comatose.
And we know this poll is accurate how?
BTW-how do we know polls are accurate, in general?
I hang up on pollsters, I think, once a week for the last month or two.
I don’t like strangers on my phone bothering me.
Were I to listen to their stupid spiel, I think I would lie for fun.
I can’t be the only one, can I?
So what chance is there polls are radically off base?
Late, is a generational concept. Our work hours are typically 7:00am to 3:30 pm.
I have some 45-58 year old employees that consider arriving at the job site ready to work at 6:55am late, the new 20-30 year old guys think if they are in the parking lot by 7:05-7:15am, they are on time.
As much as I despise big brother our company provided phones have a time clock feature that uses GPS location to time stamp their location when they clock in to start their day, end their day and any travel during the day. The little bastard will even send me an email if the phone is sitting idle for more than 30 min. Yes, just a month ago I had two new employees place their phones in a box and leave the site for an hour, both were given a chance to explain, both were fired.
One of the fucks still has my phone.
millenials are such “bare minimum” workers. One click away from being comatose.
My buddy Dallas described a dumb guy who worked one month in our shop, “his brain was idling so slow that if he had hesitated he might have gone ahead and shut down.”
4 of us went to White Sands one time to fill in for their ILS crew. The STA’s did approaches all day long. Back at Edwards they only flew a couple of hours. Old Fred had a rule, he would not leave our hotel one second earlier than the hour travel time required even when we were all present and accounted for.
I have read in articles about New Mexico, the way distance can appear to change. I had the impression the shelters on the airfield were less than a mile apart. In fact, that is a huge airfield.
I’ve almost always worked for small businesses all my life. Without exception, late employees pissed the bosses off more than anything else. When I was pouring concrete for a living, it did not matter if you were Concrete Jesus himself, be late twice and you were toast.
Anyone in those first five categories I fire. And I shit you not.
Being late often is always a sign of a fuck off that performs lousy at work as well.
Punctuality shows respect for a decent job, and is the trait of someone who works hard and takes his job seriously,
Work ethnic has declined lock step with the increase in the Free Shit Army, and unemployment game, which has become another welfare program for most. Irresponsible labor unions were a bonanza for fuck offs as well.
Being late at FedEx will get you fired quicker then anything else. Speeding tickets , accidents or log violations with get you warned .They expect on time performance.If you can keep up the pace it’s a good living and place to work.
How bb won employee of the month at Fed Ex
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiTo13fPKVk
Whenever I get a package from FedEx, I notice they really move fast, no wasting time.
Right back in the truck and on the way to the next delivery. The postal workers seem to move at a snails pace compared to them, never on the hustle, although I guess the stuff does get delivered sooner or later.
I was on a six month long job pouring concrete at a military base and I had not been late or missed a day of work in over 12 years. That summer I developed a chalazion under my right eyeball.
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The one I had was bigger and was under the eyeball itself. The whole right side of my head was cherry red and swollen. At the end of the day I went to see the superintendent for something and he told me not to come back to work until I had seen a doctor. I was glad he said that because my eye hurt like hell. He said it hurt him just to look at it. So that ended my streak.
I really got pissed when the eye doctor told me he couldn’t do anything until the infection was cleared up. Thing is, if there was no infection, I wouldn’t need him. He gave me antibiotics and sent me home. I was sitting outside his front door the next morning because I couldn’t stand it anymore. The “head” on these things point toward the eyeball and the bottom of my eye had been rubbed raw by this thing. He relented and finally lanced the damn thing. Being cut by a doctor never felt so good!
I think it depends on what the job is. If you work for FedEx or answer phones or have to unlock the doors at a certain time, then yes by all means it is critical that you be there at a certain time. If I have a meeting scheduled I will be there for the meeting.
Otherwise, I tend to wonder, ‘On time for what?’
There’s this idea some people have that you should be at the office at a certain time – that it represents a “work ethic.” Personally, I value results.
The work I do is cyclical, so there are times I work 10-12 hours in a day and other times I scoot out after seven hours. Journal entries have to be in by Day 2, the management report meeting is the third Monday of the month. Account reconciliations are due by the 18th. There are other projects, too, but my job is deadline-driven. If the deadlines are met and the work is accurate, nobody really cares what hours you keep.
@PJ, I’ve been in jobs like that for years. Funny thing I was still the first one in and last one out most days.
BUT for most people, especially in our Utopian “service” economy, being late means potentially failing at servicing your customers. Companies that do that tend not to stay in business long.
In 2002 I was hired by a recruiting service as a headhunter. I explained to the women that owned the company that being paid a 20-30% fee for “finding” an employee when there will millions of skilled workers available was never going to happen. I took the job because I needed one, it paid well, I knew I could go in and make money – even in a down economy – and I thought I like the owners.
Not once, not one freaking day, was the door to the business unlocked less than 30 past the time I was told to be there.
Every freaking day I pulled in on time, even though my commute was 45 minutes AND it was winter so many days it was much longer, and every freaking day the bosses – that lived within 5 miles of their office – were late. And every day I was required to stand around the coffeepot and “be friendly” with my fellow employees.
So, guessing that being on time was not important, AND a growing belief that no small unknown headhunting company was ever going to make a living selling permanent employment again combined with a natural hatred of forced work socializing, I quit showing up on time.
One day I decided to push it, and showed up 1 hour and 15 minutes late (didn’t hurt that I had driven all the way to Bowling Green Ohio the previous night and decided I wasn’t getting up at 4 am to make it back on time), the more-bossy boss pulled me into her office for a come-to-Jesus-talk.
I guess her plan was to put me on probation, instead I fired myself.
Screw that. Be somewhere when you say you will unless a true emergency comes up.
I’m not shocked. THIS is yet one more facet of all the reasons why this country is beyond redemption.
Fubar and soon to have our incomes and lifestyles match our efforts and true assets. Hunger and want will not much longer be a problem of the distant past.
Good for you, TE!
Twenty years ago, I was putting in 50-60 hours a week at a job, and my pinhead boss told me that 8:00 was the START TIME, and he wanted me at my desk WORKING at 8:00, not taking off my coat and booting up my computer. I said that was fine, but I would be LEAVING on time, as well. He shut right the fuck up. Another thing that ruffled a few feathers was that I would take long lunches to work out at the gym. Never mind that I never got out of there before 7:00 pm, this dumb bitch wanted to complain because my lunches were too long. A (different) seasoned co-worker of mine stood up for me, which I have never forgotten. I was working both Saturdays and Sundays at year-end. Who gives a rat’s ass if my lunch hour takes an hour and a half?
I work with headhunters in my semi-retired life as a project contractor. The one I’m working with right now seems pretty good. Her mentality isn’t so much “fill and bill” as she is a business partner with the client companies. She stays in constant communication with them to get a solid lead time on when they will need contract help. That works for me, too. I want to develop a roster of companies who like me and want me back. Then, when I’m ready to go back to work after taking several months off (“going Galt”) I won’t have to go through an interview process.
But I’m too much of an introvert to deal with all that “forced socializing,” as you put it. Just let me crunch numbers. Next Thursday I have to go to a “contractor appreciation event” and my headhunter sent out an e-mail saying the venue is perfect for “mingling.” I laughed my ass off and told her she had just terrified all the introverts.
@PJ, I specialized in accounting professionals at the beginning of my headhunting career. The most amusing follow up interviews were with HR concerning the “lack of personality” of the accounting guys.
I had to explain to them that I was an anomaly, accounting attracts the introverted and quiet. THAT is what makes their careers good fits for THEM. THAT is why accounting – while I was very good at it – sucked the life right out of me.
I told dozens of HR “experts” that not hiring an accountant because he was not a social butterfly was one of the stupidest reasons for passing on skilled personnel. Now if they are staffing salesmen, then yes, the quiet guy that keeps to himself would be a detriment. But if you NEED the person to sit quietly, crunching numbers, a non-social introvert is the way to go. I even had to PROVE my “hypothesis” to this one HR bitch that was looking to staff an actuary whom would be required to sit – alone – in a back corner with NO OTHER employees in his area at all. Even after she had THREE offers refused – due to the work environment – she had to be convinced. Last I heard my placement was still there – and promoted – she was gone.
You sound like the exact person I would want for my fictitious company. I’ve been kicking around a staffing idea for a few years. The difference between me and everyone else would be that ALL contracted/temp workers would be owners, thus not subject to the deluge of laws regarding employees, their benefits, and their taxes.
Thus a client company would NOT be hiring a temp employee, they would be leasing an owner.
I would love to partner with someone like you. Dependable, reliable, able to differentiate between putting in time and getting the job done.
Good on you and keep on keeping on my friend!