Is it ever acceptable to be late?

I always hear, excuses like ‘the bus was delayed’, ‘there was so much traffic’, ‘my train was cancelled’ as reasons for lateness in getting to work/meetings/training..

To me this smacks of a distinct lack of preparation. The people making these excuses have never missed a flight to take them on holiday! Why, because they know being late is not an option. They’ll impact their holiday, incur costs etc if they do.

So why do those same people think it’s acceptable to be late for work/meetings/training? Are they actually saying ‘you’re just not important enough to me?

If we truly value our jobs and want to progress on, surely being late is never an option. Of course unforeseen things happen such as the London Terrorist Attacks on London Bridge. These are completely out of our control.

However, choosing to get the bus/train that just gets us into work on time is unacceptable, leaves us looking unprepared and not particularly bothered and often – late!

I was reminded of this simple yet crucial tool employers use to evaluate their employees by two of the current Growing Talent Associates I bumped into this morning – day 2 on site training in their roles.

They have chosen to arrive on site 30 minutes early which gives them time to relax, have a coffee and get in the zone of being ‘work ready’. Of course if there are any issues with buses and trains – they still won’t be late because they left enough time to cover this.

Yet these fabulous Associates are not yet employed. What amazing role models they are. To get something, so basic so right so early – the future is definitely bright for them!

I doubt they will be caught unprepared unlike some of us ……….Let’s follow their example and DON’T BE LATE!