Tardiness is more than an irritation, it is a symptom of a deeper problem. Many times it is a pattern associated with being passive/aggressive. Being late is a way of controlling your life. By arriving late, it tells others that they can set the time, but you will not be controlled by their schedule.
It can also be a sign of someone who cannot say no to the demands of other people. This results in a situation of being constantly over booked. Being late for work, however, can lead to some very undesirable outcomes. The main one would be the loss of the job. Because of the impact of lost employment, it can lead to many more bad ends.
People who are late for work are often late for everything. They just have a pattern of being late. Over the years, these people have developed a list of reasons to excuse their tardiness that includes anything from work, to weddings, to parties, and on the list goes. Some of these excuses can be quite inventive. Most of the time they are just reruns of the same excuse time after time. Here is a list of 10 of the more common reasons for being late for work.
1. I needed someone to watch my kids.
This excuse is often true. However,when it happens many times over a few years, it becomes apparent that a back up plan should have been devised that does not include being late for work every time that it happens. If a person has a babysitter that consistently fails to perform, it is time to find another sitter. After 2 or 3 times with this problem, one would think that a person would find a reliable number two child care provider to cover these emergencies.
2. My car would not start. I had a flat tire. I lost my car keys. Any excuse that has to do with car problems.
Everyone has car trouble once in a while. People who can only afford a cheap used car will have more problems than most. The truth is that if you are not always late for work, someone might be willing to car pool with you. When your car dies off, theirs can pick up the slack.
3. My alarm clock failed. I overslept. This would be all of those excuses that say something was wrong with a clock.
If your job is important to you, why trust it to the reliability of one clock. Find other ways to get out of bed on time. If you have this problem more than once, you need to get someone to call you every morning and be your parent like when you were in school. It is sad that adults need to do this, but getting to work on time is important.
4. I got stuck in traffic.
This is another excuse that really happens to almost everyone. Even those responsible souls that like to arrive an hour early can get stabbed by this malady. However, most people left home late and used traffic as an excuse for their failure to get to work on time. Having three cars in front of you at a light technically does not qualify as stuck in traffic. Overusing this excuse will almost always get you a spot in the unemployment line.
5. A family member was sick or in trouble and needed my attention.
While this one might have some truth in it, it is rare in most households that it happens more than once a year. Many times, it can be a symptom that someone is doing more than their share of caring for sick family members. Get some help and get to work on time.
6. I received an important last-minute phone call.
The phone does indeed ring at inopportune moments. Unless it was notification of the death of a spouse, parent, child, or sibling, you could probably have taken a message and called back later. In this day of cell phones, this excuse should fade into the sunset. Catching up on the latest family or neighborhood gossip is a poor excuse to be tardy. Learn to tell people not to call just before you go to work. The other alternative is get caller ID and voice mail to answer your phone when it is a bad time.
7. Bad weather made me late.
This one is always interesting. Someone with an hour drive in good weather will make it on time while someone who lives two blocks away will be late. It usually is not the weather. The weather just becomes a reasonable excuse to get you off the hook with the boss.
8. The power was off for hours this morning.
If you have a well, no power can mean no water to wash up and get ready. However, you could drain some from the water heater to wash your face and freshen up if you had to. The power is off almost always means that you thought it was too inconvenient to get ready for work. You decided to wait until it was easier to get ready. At any rate, if this is a frequent occurance, you need to buy a generator and keep bottled water on hand.
9. I ran out of gas.
Here is a pointless excuse. Even if you have a faulty gas gauge on your car, you should know if you have logged 200 miles since you last bought gas. It is time to fill up. If you need your job, keep gas in your car.
10. Something went wrong at my house, and I had to get a repair ordered or made before I could come to work.
Houses do need repairs. Sometimes, they even have things go wrong that were unexpected and at a bad time. A burst water pipe or a major hole in the roof from a piece of falling space debris may be a reasonable excuse. Most home repairs can wait until a more convenient time. Choosing to be late for work is a bad choice if you have any other options.
The reality is that most of the excuses used by those who are always late for work are not true. At least, they are not true to the extent that it required the person to be late. Frequently, the excuse was contrived after it became obvious that the person would not make it to on time to work.