What Is Tardiness?

Tardiness is being habitually late. I am not talking about occasionally arriving a few minutes late, but a constant, chronic issue which becomes the norm.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary describes it as :

the quality or state of being tardy or late. It indicates a delay in arrival or action, often associated with being slow or unready.

This is quite problematic in Jamaica, as most of us operate on what is called “Jamaica time”, where a specific time given is seen as a guide or suggestion, not a strict requirement. Thus, an event scheduled to start at 5 pm often does not get underway until an hour or so later, which can be quite disturbing and frustrating for the faithful few who value their time and that of others.

As stated before, one can be occasionally late for various reasons, and this can be excused, especially if the reasons are beyond your control. What is more concerning, though, is the actions of those who do not care or who think that they are making a statement by being ‘fashionably late”.

Rules and regulations allow for order and structure in society. Being constantly tardy disrupts this process. What if all or most employees decided that they would arrive at work when they wanted instead of the specified time? Productivity would be negatively affected, and so would the bottom line.

Causes of Tardiness

Tardiness can be caused by various factors. These include:

Time blindness – poor estimation of the length of time it takes to complete various tasks. For example, estimating that the amount of time needed to complete morning chores before leaving for work is 30 minutes when it is actually an hour.

Time Optimism – Always estimating the best-case scenario. and feeling that they have more time than they really do. For example, they expect that there will be no traffic to deal with or that they will find parking instantly, which is usually not the case.

Avoidance – It could be a psychological way of avoiding spending too much time in places that cause anxiety or stress.

Effects of Tardiness

In the workplace, tardiness results in lower productivity, lower morale, delayed career development and can even lead to dismissal.

In general, tardiness results in time wasting. For example, functions get underway later than planned, as the few who arrive early have to wait for the many who arrive late, and thus waste the time of those who made the effort to be on time. This can in turn, infringe on time that was intended to be spent on other pursuits, resultung in a disruption of schedules.

How to Overcome Tardiness

With discipline, determination and proper planning, tardiness can become a thing of the past. Here are some practical steps that can be employed:

1. Work backward from target (arrival) time – Subtract your travel time, estimated time for parking and walking.
2. Give yourself an extra 10 – 15 minutes for unexpected delays.
3. Make preparations from the night before.
4. If not, get up earlier than normal.
5. Set an alarm for your departure time and leave when it sounds.
6. Avoid stopping to do ‘just one more thing ‘.

Are you a tardy person? If so, what steps will you take to overcome the problem?