Many managers struggle with this common complaint. A
talented and dedicated employee starts to become repeatedly late for work.
Disciplinary action seems a harsh measure when the employee is valued, yet the
manager is torn as to not take action would mean applying double
standards! But is disciplinary action
really the solution? Perhaps a psychological approach needs to be applied to
this problem of time management.
The first thing we need to examine is why is that the
employee is late for work? Contrary to popular belief, lateness is not a
personality trait, but rather a behaviour.
And behaviour is something that arises from our attitudes, emotions and
habits. So let us examine what is going
on with the employee’s attitudes, emotions and habits.
A very common attitude that we encounter on The Time Clinic
is the following. “I put in so many
hours overtime, and then the one day I am five minutes late for work, I am in
the dogbox!” If we examine this
statement, there are two things going on here; firstly a distinct sense of
being taken for granted, not being noticed, being unappreciated and secondly an
increasing sense of resentment.
It makes sense that an employee who feels that they are
dedicating so much of their personal time and committing so much of themselves
to further the goals of the organisation would feel a sense of resentment when
they are not being noticed or appreciated.
It makes even more sense that this feeling would escalate to boiling
point when the very same employee is criticised for being late for work, when, in their eyes, they should be able to ‘cash in’ some of the time they have put
in after hours. Although this does not
work in reality, the sense of resentment will mount. So instead of disciplining a dedicated and
committed employee, the very first step is to start by having some empathy for
them. But then what? Surely we cannot
allow for special circumstances and allow special cases to arrive for work whenever
it suits them?
Indeed! Unless your organisation is practising flexitime,
there are rules that are stipulated and need to be adhered to lest the balance
of your employees begins to practice resentment too! So how do we turn this
situation around?
We need to start by addressing the source of the resentment
which is the employee’s feeling of being taken for granted and not being
recognised. Every human being wants to
be heard, appreciated and noticed – especially an employee who is going the
extra mile! Start by scheduling regular
sessions with your staff member to discuss their workload, commend them on
their achievements and acknowledge their commitments. Acknowledge, inspire and
provide guidance. This is true
leadership!
As soon as the channels of communication have been
re-established, you are now in a better position to raise the issue of
punctuality. You may even find the
behaviour corrects itself! But if not,
it is time to have a discussion highlighting the fact that despite the challenges the staff member may have, it is important to acknowledge the rules of the
organisation and make an effort to be on time for work as this behaviour has negative
consequences for not only the staff member but also the morale of the
department.
Attitudes affect emotions and emotions affect
behaviour. Behaviour eventually becomes
habit. This is crucial to understand.
Your late employee may have already developed a ‘late’ habit. Tolerance may be required as your staff member
may need to practice to correct their behaviour. Perhaps they need to work at
finding the ideal time to leave home, find new routes to work or wake up
earlier. We need to allow people
opportunities to make mistakes and change our wording so when we make mistakes
we are not ‘failing’ but rather ‘practicing’ until competence is achieved. Discuss the reasons your staff member is late
and find solutions together. A supportive
environment will motivate your employee to exceed your expectations whereas a
stick approach will always result in resentment and ultimately rebellion.
Always incorporate the human element it into your management
style for dramatic results and remember that time management is about more than
managing one’s time – there is always deeper stuff going on! For more information about time management
training contact info@timeclinic.co.za
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