Traffic Jams No. 1 Reason People Are Late for Work

"I was stuck in a time warp."

"I lost track of time while playing hide-and-seek with a neighbor."

"I took my sick goldfish to the vet."

These are among the more memorable excuses workers have given for being late to work, according to a survey with 1,600 U.S. respondents conducted in February by Workyard, a San Francisco-based workforce management software company.

[Check out other head-shaking reasons for being late that SHRM Online collected.]

However, gridlock is the most common reason given for arriving late to work, with personal problems and oversleeping rounding out the top three excuses. Health issues, including doctor and dentist appointments, and dropping a child off at school also contribute to tardiness, Workyard found, along with misplaced car keys and wallets, a burst water pipe and a family pet that got loose.

"The top excuses of being late to work are mainly the ones that people don't have control over," Workyard CEO Nic De Bonis said in a press release announcing the findings with the following chart.

Car troubles, public transportation delays, family emergencies and even getting lost on the way to work are among the excuses Jarir Mallah, an HR generalist, has heard. More drastic situations have involved floods, power outages and vehicles that were either stolen or appropriated by a family member.

"Regardless of the reason, it's always important for employees to communicate with their employer and let them know if they're running late or unable to make it into work on time," said Mallah, who works at Ling, a gamified language learning app company based in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

A conversation may be in order with an employee who is chronically late.

Ksenija Dmitrovic, an HR and marketing assistant at Toronto-based 1040 Abroad, which specializes in international taxation, recalled a conversation he had with an employee about bad habits.

"At my previous job, an employee approached me and explained that he had stayed up late the night before watching TikTok videos on their phone," Dmitrovic said. "He became so engrossed in the content that he lost track of time and eventually dozed off with the app still running. This caused his phone battery to drain, and the alarm didn't go off."

The employee overslept and showed up at work an hour late.

"While this may seem like a simple mistake, the habit of watching TikTok videos late at night can certainly interfere with sleep and work productivity," Dmitrovic said. "During our discussion, we talked about the challenges that employees face in managing their time and avoiding distractions, including the power of habits and how difficult they are to break."

Ryan Hetrick, CEO and co-founder of Epiphany Wellness in Blackwood, N.J., said he has heard every lateness excuse from "I couldn't find the right socks" to "I had a bad dream."

"And that's just the tip of the iceberg. But what can you do? If they're late because they overslept, or because their car wouldn't start, or because their dog got into a fight with another dog, there's not much you can do," he said. "You can't force them to be on time—you would be legally liable for doing so, and it would be a terrible idea anyway.

"But if they show up late for no good reason? Then it's time for a talking-to," Hetrick continued. "We all have busy lives, but we have to balance our personal needs with our professional ones. It's important that employees know that lateness affects not only them but their co-workers as well—and that it reflects poorly on the company as a whole."

Getting lost during a hot-air balloon ride was one of the most memorable reasons for being late that Fred Hoffman has ever heard. He is the founder of The True Wilderness, an Arizona-based company specializing in outdoor living.

"Regardless of the reason, it's important for employers to take into account all possible explanations when evaluating an employee's tardiness. In some cases, showing understanding and flexibility can make all the difference in an employee's job satisfaction," he said. "Being able to handle these kinds of issues in a professional manner can help build trust between employers and employees alike." 

Employees may not know their supervisor's or organization's expectations for timeliness. One way to communicate those expectations is with an attendance point system. A template available to members of the Society for Human Resource Management outlines the consequences when employees accumulate a certain number of unauthorized absences during a 12-month period. For example, accumulating 10 points leads to a verbal warning, with the type of discipline escalating as the point total climbs.

The worker who is 10 minutes late each day has, by the end of the year, taken the equivalent of a week's paid vacation, SHRM Online reported. That doesn't include the impact on meetings and teams when someone trails in past their start time.

"Tardiness can cause disruptions and lost productivity in the workplace," said Jon Morgan, CEO of Cincinnati-based Venture Smarter, a consultancy working with startups and small businesses. He also has an HR background.

"As an HR professional, I believe it is important to establish clear policies and expectations for attendance and punctuality," Morgan said. "We have a set of guidelines in place that encourages employees to be punctual and communicate any delays or unexpected absences to their managers in a timely manner. This helps ensure that everyone is aware of expectations and can work together to maintain a productive and efficient work environment." 

Other SHRM Resources:
Taming Tardiness, SHRM Online, August 2020