We reveal how much and why people are late for work

According to many studies, most employees would prefer the day to last 31 hours instead of 24 in order to complete all their tasks. Therefore, it is not surprising that some, due to fatigue, obligations, or poor time management, sometimes arrive late to work.

What excuses Croatian employees come up with for being late to work was investigated by MojPosao among more than 300 respondents.

How often are we late for work

The majority of respondents, 39%, are late for work only in exceptional situations, while one-fifth (21%) state that they are never late. 13% of respondents have problems with punctuality, being late at least once a week, while 10% admit that they are late almost every day. Occasionally, or less than once a week, 14% of respondents are late, while 3% have flexible working hours and therefore do not have issues with tardiness. Men are somewhat more likely to be late for work than women. 31% of men are late every or almost every day, while 21% of women are late that often.

When it comes to the age of respondents, those aged 26 to 35 are the most likely to be late almost every day (13%), while daily tardiness is least common among respondents over 46 years old (4%). The most punctual employees are those in large companies – 28% of respondents claim they are never late for work. When employees are late, it is most often by up to 15 minutes (48%). One-third of respondents (30%) state that they are only 5 minutes late, while 16% are late by up to half an hour. More than half an hour late are 6% of respondents.

Tardiness is least tolerated in large companies

Although they do not officially have to make up the minutes they were late, most respondents (55%) stay longer at work. 29% of respondents do not make up for lost time, while 17% have to stay longer due to tardiness. Making up for the minutes they were late is a more common practice in large companies – 19% of employees state that they have to stay longer at work if they are late, while 14% in small companies and 10% of employees in medium-sized companies report the same.

When late, employees in private companies predominantly owned by foreign entities (23%) have to make up for their work. On the other hand, these respondents stay longer at work to compensate for their tardiness, even when they do not have to (63%). Employees in institutions have the least obligation to make up for tardiness, with only 8% stating that they have to make up for being late.

As many as 75% of employees inform their boss that they will be late for work

Of the respondents who are late, 25% state that their boss has reprimanded them for being late, while 15% received a reprimand from colleagues. However, the majority of employees (60%) have not experienced a reprimand for tardiness. Men are more likely to receive a reprimand from their boss for being late than women – 30% of men and 24% of women have been reprimanded by their boss for tardiness. Supervisors most often reprimand the youngest respondents – 35% of respondents under 25 years old stated that their supervisor reprimanded them for being late. Those over 46 years old receive the least reprimands for tardiness, with only 16% stating that their supervisor reprimanded them for being late to work.

The majority of respondents (57%) state that tardiness is tolerated in their company, as long as it is within the bounds of ‘academic quarter’ and the work is completed. One-fifth of respondents (21%) state that tardiness is still implicitly frowned upon, while 6% claim that tardiness is punished, most often by a reduction in hourly wage.

When they notice they will be late for work, the majority of respondents (75%) inform their boss that they will be late, even if it is just a few minutes.

We are most often late because we find it hard to wake up for work

Respondents cite difficulty waking up (34%), traffic (31%), and morning obligations such as children (21%) as the most common reasons for being late to work. Half of the respondents (50%) are honest and always state the real reason for their tardiness. On the other hand, 43% of respondents admit that they sometimes lie about the reasons for being late, while 7% have never been honest.

Although the most common reason for being late is sleeping in or difficulty waking up, respondents most often cite traffic problems (66%) and personal obligations (45%) as the reasons for their tardiness to their supervisor.

Among the comments from respondents about the reasons for being late, there were also some creative ones, such as:

– My child fell asleep on the potty…
– My grandmother took too long to serve (it was food) so it took a while for me to eat!
– I was waiting for frogs to cross the road.