The importance of PUNCTUALITY

[DeletedUser]

Is it important to be on time to work? Social engagements? Appointments?

I am a chef, I run a kitchen and employ 7 people in the back of the house and as many in the front of the house. Of those 14 employees there are only 2 who show up regularly on time. To me that is unacceptable. I have fired people for being five minutes late (more than once). Am I expecting too much? I have not missed a day, nor have I ever even been 1 minute late to work in 15 years, and in that time I have spent up to 7 months of working seven days a week.

Do I put too much importance on being at work on time? Am I the weird one for being dependable and punctual? My data seems to point in that direction.

What are valid reasons for being late? I will accept a few at my work. Finding a parking spot is not valid to me. Rain does not work for me either. We could have a foot of snow on the ground and I still make it in even if I have to walk 12 miles and start my walk 2 hours before my scheduled work time in order to get there on time?

Am I just a tyrant?

 

[DeletedUser]

Very interesting topic iggy...

As always there is a lot to take into consideration, in general I think it is important to be on time if it actually affects other people (in more ways than just bringing up feelings about time and punctuality).

When it comes to work there are a few things more to consider (than the general point above), is the time requirement one sided or not? What I mean is, if you require your staff to be on time (for valid reasons) this means that they will have to be early most of the time to make sure that they are not late, does this mean that they can go early (or in other ways be compensated for the extra time they put in)? How is the contract specified wrt to to time at work and changing, breaks, etc. Do you have a staff meeting in the morning that everyone must attend so they understand what they should be doing this particular day, etc, etc. What happens if people are late in relation to your customers?

When it comes to social stuff, there is the added complication of power in the relationship, in some way being constantly late can mean that you value your own time more than the others, what repercussions does that have on the relationships? It can also mean that you have trouble organizing your life and being untimely is the most visible way this shows.

Then there is the other side of it all: time, punctuality, efficiency and related concepts are indeed important but they are also one of the hallmarks of the capitalist society that values productivity over social relationships.

Being on time often means turning a blind eye on your own and other peoples needs. To be in time you can not stop to take care of yourself and others and I don't refer to the big things (like car accidents, etc) but just to eat slower, say hello to a neighbor, warm up and stretch your muscles, help someone get the groceries home, face the sun, chat away with the people on the square, etc, etc.

In the long run this has a price, for ourselves but also for society as a whole.

/Edlit

 

[nashy19]

Do you have anything worthwhile to do with your time if you turn up early?

I'm sometimes late because public transport is unreliable. I could start 30 minutes earlier but I would rather occasionally miss the first 10 minutes of a lesson than spend 30 minutes waiting on most days. Especially since what I'd probably be doing in class (writing, research etc) could be done even more easily from home. I know turning up late is viewed worse than not turning up at all, but I don't really care what they think.

In my country snow is mother natures way of telling everyone to take a holiday, we could run the country on those rare snow days but practically nobody wants to.

Yes you're weird (I had a teacher who did the same), however only having two regulars is also weird. Whether you place too much important on it or not depends on how much you sacrifice to maintain your punctuality.

 

[DeletedUser16008]

Depends on your business and job i think.... my employees always had a flexible start time due to not being busy in the mornings but often working late. Therefore knowing id be expecting their time maybe later being late in the mornings was never an issue. Ihave never fired someone for bad timekeeping, there are ways to get them to make it up if it bothers you and make them think about whether its worth messing you around... Of course thats before all the stupid regulations that employing people now demands.

Personally i'm always on time, never liked being late and the feeling of it... Social i really don't mind people being late, I used to but after spending time in both Asia and S America where people would and did turn up days late I kinda realised theres nothing to be bothered about back home.

I did once have a job where the start time was 9am yet they expected everyone to be in by 8:30am... I asked if i was going to be paid for the 2 1/2 hrs more a week or in extra holiday... they were shocked id asked and were even more shocked when I pointed out if i were expected to work an extra 5% longer then it was a reasonable request....

My point is most employers get lost time back with unpaid overtime and short breaks etc and never once consider they are stealing time from their workers. Unless you clock in and out ill bet they pay lost time back tenfold over a year.

 

[DeletedUser]

There's no harm in being early, one just needs to know how to solve a rubik's cube utilize the spare time.

 

[DeletedUser]

I don't think it's unreasonable to expect people to be on time, especially when working in a restaurant or similar setting. I've always been one who would rather be 1/2 hour early than 5 minutes late, so I always plan for unexpected delays when it's at all possible. I had one boss who was amazed that I had a flat tire on my way to work, changed it in the dark and rain, got to work, cleaned up and still started my shift on time. If I'm being paid to work from 8 to 5 (or whatever hours it is), I expect to be there during that full time.

I also tend to show up early for appointments and social things, but it doesn't bother me much if I have to wait a while. I don't wear a watch, so half the time I wouldn't know if the other person was late or not unless I was waiting in my car. For appointments, I do usually wait in my car until a couple of minutes before my actual time because it gives me a little time to relax.

 

[DeletedUser]

In Argentina, being late is actually a social norm, it's traditional, it's expected, it's even considered rude to be "on time." But, it is also in context. If you are relieving someone of their shift, then yes it's rude to be late. If it undermines the team, then yes it's rude to be late.

Your context is that you have people you need to be on time to work in your restaurant. I would say, depends on what their jobs are and, as at least one person has pointed out, whether they are compensated for coming in early.

In my many business dealings, I learned that rewards work far better than punishments. If people are asked to come in at a certain time, I reward them for showing up early. If there's no dependencies, if showing up late has no impact on others in the team, or on the running of the business, then no harm done for latecomers. If, on the other hand, showing up late means someone else has to stay late (which means overtime and a grumpy other employee), or if showing up late means the entire team is compromised and the store/restaurant opens up late because of it, then absolutely it must be addressed.

In the case of people who show up late on a regular basis, rather than getting a replacement, I would have them show up early and make them responsible for menial chorse until such time as everyone else gets to work on time. That way, if they show up late to their menial chores, no real loss. I.e., their showing up late to menial chores still means they're on time for the real work (their shift, for example).

But, yes, if you have a tight schedule, if you do not provide ample time for people's shifts to overlap, then running a tight ship is a necessity. I would, however, prefer not to run a tight ship, and instead allow for shift overlap. Not only does it provide for a less stressful work environment, compensate for njubs who just can't help but be late on occasion (or often), but it generally provides for a time-period in which I have more staff than I need, which opens up the opportunity for "catch-up," and thus a cleaner running next shift.

Iggy, I would say it's a matter of perspective. If you enforce the rule on "principle," that's the wrong reason and you need to re-examine your motives. "Just because" is never a good reason to impose a rule, to enforce a policy. If you think being on time is the "right thing to do as an employee," that's an opinion, not a reason, and doesn't belong in a work environment. It's a matter of what works, what doesn't, and what can be done to make it work, not a matter of hitting their head over and over against the refrigerator door (although that might be fun, at least for the first few hours).

There is one more thing to consider, and that's impact on the team. Slackers hurt the team as a whole, and thus if they aren't doing their jobs well, and are also being allowed to show up late, that's just plain bad for team morale. If, on the other hand, they're really good workers, I would say give them some leeway and if anyone else complains, tell them when they start working as hard as that guy/gal, they can show up late too. Then smack them and proceed to bang their heads against the refrigerator door.

 

[DeletedUser]

Iggy, I would say it's a matter of perspective. If you enforce the rule on "principle," that's the wrong reason and you need to re-examine your motives. "Just because" is never a good reason to impose a rule, to enforce a policy. If you think being on time is the "right thing to do as an employee," that's an opinion, not a reason, and doesn't belong in a work environment. It's a matter of what works, what doesn't, and what can be done to make it work, not a matter of hitting their head over and over against the refrigerator door (although that might be fun, at least for the first few hours).

Well, In this particular scenario, my scenario, I am the boss who goes to work no matter what because I act like I actually need a job (which I actually do need a job). Also, in the local economy, which is a tourist economy and is hospitality based, there is no shortage in qualified people that can do the job. So, in the end, I feel like somebody that does not show up on time, or AT LEAST CALL ME and let me know (before they are technically late) that they will be late (I'm actually a pretty laid back hyper active stress ball but overall understanding person) then they are disrespecting me by not adhering to the schedule I have set forth and causing me to waste time by wondering if they are hurt, sick, or in some kind of accident.
Additionally, I pay my employees for the time they are at work working. That does not mean showing up on time then taking a bathroom break, then taking time to fix makeup, then making a coffee, smoking a cigarette, then finally doing the work. It means showing up early, doing all those other things, then, on time, doing the job that I hired them for.
To me, punctuality is just the start of job performance. If you cannot even show up to work your job on time then why should I expect that you can perform well? It is the easiest of all the criterion I set for my employees. It just really gets my goat when they think that they are above the rule and that they cannot get replaced. In the current economy I get, on average, 4 resumes a day of well qualified candidates. That averages out to almost 1500 resumes a year of people that have at least 3 years experience in fine dining. That is a staggering number. To think that you would have job security when there are almost another 30 people a week who want your job and can do it at least as well as you can, one would think that you would at the very least show up on time.

On a side note, I do reward quality employees, usually out of my own pocket, for excellence. My boss did not even give out bonuses this year but I made sure everyone got something from me, even to the detriment of my own finances.

Another side note, I AM a tyrant! I am known for being a no nonsense chef and my awards and kitchen staff who can last would tell you that. My motto is "it's perfect but it will have to do". And anyone trained in my kitchen would feel comfortable working in anyone elses kitchen around the world.

 

[DeletedUser]

Can you cook me something?

 

[DeletedUser]

I must admit, after that earlier thread about apostrophes, I initially thought this was a discussion about punctuation!!!!

Meh