Recently there have been a lot of reports about how people who come late to work are more creative and optimistic. If one such report is to be believed, nearly 15% of the people turn up late to the office at least once a week and 27% do the same once a month.
While the bosses fret over these reports, we are here with a solution. We will get to that later on.
But, before we talk about them, let’s see what we will cover in this blog-
Excuses for coming late to the office
Coming up with the perfect late for work excuses is a skill people use quite liberally and this list of excuses for coming late to office perfectly testifies that.
- And yup, HRs and employers take cues.
- I got late because my dog refused to wake up! No, ain’t that cute.
- I was stuck in lift. And how hard we tried to open it
- The radio delayed its announcement of traffic jam. I was stuck in there already!
- The alarm didn’t ring: Oh yeah! Why, because my dog ate the clock!
- Tried taking a short cut, got stuck in wrong way.
- Wore wrong shoes. Realized when was half way through
- Locked the car keys inside the car.
- Had a flat tyre (again!) It was the left one this time.
- My kid locked the room from outside and refused to open it. Had to snuggle out of the window
Has anyone you know or you yourself have used a unique excuse for getting late to work? Tell us about it in the comments! Let’s see who has used the best one.
The HRs may not still be in a position to tell you that it is an excuse, but now they are better off. They know what’s true, and what might just not be. Precisely, the best excuses for being late to work don’t really sound as real as they do in your head.
But, is it always okay to lie for being late?
Certainly, it isn’t.
First of all, such excuses for coming late to office barely sound real.
Secondly, they won’t justify your late arrival to the office but will surely deteriorate your image.
Why lie? Being honest is far better than making excuses that put you off as a liar and cheat.
What could possibly the reason be? Not feeling well, the sickness of your kid, you got up late because you partied last night? Just say the real truth not the fabricated one.
How to apologize for being late to work?
For starters, there is no point in apologizing if you know your reason for being late at work was genuine. However, if you know deep inside that you have been at fault, here are some ways to directly or indirectly apologize for coming late to work.
- Write an apology letter- If you going late to work (beyond the lag allowed) has become a trend, you can write an email being sorry, mentioning the true reason, and then taking a resolution to not repeat in the future.
- Work on yourself- Emergencies are never a daily phenomenon. It is mostly your habits that need a change. Let go of your procrastination, fix your sleep cycle, work on your mental health, and such. Consider this your best indirect apology.
- Inform prior- There might be some situation at home that gets in your way of getting to the office on time like taking care of an elderly or kid. Instead, of making excuses, you can share the true reason and then inform prior that you would be getting late to work.
Rest, we feel as the work arrangements are changing, employees and employers, both need to meet halfway and understand each other better.
What HR/employer should do?
The times when rigid time policies used to prevail across workplaces are gone. Now is the time when organizations are adopting a flexible time policy and you should too. C’mon! They aren’t in a school anyway and shouldn’t be treated like so. Just embrace the same and see the change. You can read workplace flexibility tips to begin the process.
Alongwith it, just to better ensure that all the employees are completing their work hours, you should have attendance management system in place integrated with biometrics.
Also, it is very essential to let them be more inclined towards completing their tasks and not completing the work hours. Let them leave an hour or so early if they have done their tasks. Let them take ownership of their work. It’s okay to leave early from work sometimes, isn’t it?
There you go, the root cause of making such bad excuses, exists no more!