Whilst employers consider the traditional 9-5 working hours to be outdated and embrace flexible working, working from home, and ‘don’t need to see them just their ouptut’ initiatives for staff many staff still feel under stress when in a traditional ‘clock watching environment’
For many workers, getting out of bed and off to work on time can be hard enough without the added obstacles imposed by traffic, bad weather and delayed public transport. Perhaps this is why 20 per cent of workers are late to work at least once a week, and 10 per cent arrive late at least once a month.
The vast majority of employers still place a value on timeliness, with 51 per cent expecting their employees to be on time every day and a third of employers admitting to having fired an employee for being late. This is despite 79 per cent of employers considering “working 9 to 5” to be an antiquated idea.
Some employers are more lenient than others, however. Nearly one third say they don’t mind the occasional late arrival, as long as it doesn’t become a pattern. Sixteen per cent say they don’t need employees to be punctual if they can still get their work done. Indeed, 64 per cent of workers who arrive late will stay later to make up the time.
Of the workers who have admitted to being late for work in the past, 18 per cent have lied about the reason for their tardiness. Male workers are more likely to admit to lying about their reason for being late than their female counterparts – 25 per cent and 13 per cent respectively.
Traffic is the most common cause of tardiness among employees, followed by bad public transport and bad weather. Lack of sleep slows down nearly one in ten workers, while getting the kids off to daycare or school, and lack of organisation are roadblocks for 5 per cent of workers.
“Employers understand that things in your life will disrupt your routine and they are willing to overlook the occasional late arrival,” says Scott Helmes, Managing Director of CareerBuilder UK who commissioned the survey.
“When tardiness becomes a habit, however, it starts to negatively affect productivity and can even hurt workplace morale. At such a point, employers may be driven to take disciplinary action.” Helmes concluded.
Speaking about the findings in this survey Richard Alvin, group managing director of Capital Business Media and Startup Britain ambassador said: “For most office-based jobs the desk bound 9 to 5 working relationship is very outdated and also a barrier to business growth. All of the companies we invest in we urge them wherever possible to embrace flexible working practices as a trusted and flexible workforce is a happy and proactive one.”
