Every boss has dealt with employees who have a hard time showing up on time. Tardiness has resulted in billions of dollars per year lost in productivity for American businesses. This can obviously cause multiple issues in a business’ overall success and workplace culture.
Most people know that when they’re frequently late, it increases the risks of them losing their jobs. But some people still continue their tardy patterns- and they have explanations. Check out these 7 reasons your employees are late for work.
1. Feeling Unmotivated
The thing that gets people to jump out of their bed in the morning and enthusiastically get to their day is feeling motivated by what they have going on in life. However, if you’re employees are feeling unmotivated about their career, job or work-related projects, you might start to realize that they are always late for work.
You may also see this start to affect their productivity and work ethic throughout the day. It could be related to the difficulty level of their job, or they may not be as passionate as they were once before. Consider meeting with the employee to discuss work options for getting them back on track.
2. Unhappy with Their Job
Another reason why your employees may always be late for work is that they’ve become unhappy with their jobs. This is similar to becoming unmotivated except it may not be as simple to fix. Someone who is unhappy with their job will probably begin to under-perform in most areas, including their promptness.
After awhile this person will probably be looking to put in their letter of resignation. Being tardy for work could be one of the early signs.
3. They’re Lazy
Sometimes people just don’t feel like doing things, and they don’t push themselves past this feeling. If someone is lazy, nine times out of ten, they will start to show up late for work. They’ll start getting out of bed later and moving slower when it’s actually time to get up and ready.
Laziness can take over anyone at any time. But it’s up to that person to build up the willpower to still accomplish the things they need to get done. You may need to have a conversation with them about their work ethic to fix the issue before it gets worse.
4. Difficulties with Management
A lot of times employees don’t want to come to work because they don’t really like their boss. This could cause the person to begin to come to show up late and give common excuses for being late to work to avoid being around management for too long.
They could be feeling unappreciated or undervalued by the person (or people) who are in charge. If this becomes an unattended issue, the employee may choose to leave or escalate the issue to HR. Exercise by confronting the employee about the situation to see how the issue can be fixed.
5. Not Getting Enough Rest
If your employee showing up is late for work every day and you see that they’re dragging themselves in, it may be due to the amount of rest that they are getting at night. You might notice if they seem overly exhausted throughout the day. This could look like them not being able to focus during their work time or meetings.
The employee not getting enough rest could be due to a variety of different reasons. Some may be out of there control, but some may be related to their sleeping setup. Recommend some changes to their bed, such as adding a cooling mattress topper of switching the firmness of their pillows.
6. Experiencing Burnout
When people dedicate a lot of time to their work and don’t take adequate rest time, they can experience burnout. This can cause issues, including fatigue, disinterest, lack of motivation and a decline in productivity. It may also cause them to come late to work more frequently.
This is a common issue amongst people who are workaholics and don’t have a good work/life balance. It can also turn into deeper physical, mental and emotional concerns. The best step to take is to advise the employee to rest and to immediately reach out to a professional for help if need be.
7. Having Personal Issues
Sometimes life gets a bit chaotic and becomes overwhelming for people to deal with. This could be happening in your employee’s life, and it could cause them to be late for work more than they would like. It may be things that are out of their control or recent changes.
An employee who is could also have some complications around the work environment. It may be best to offer them extra support or encourage them to take some time off depending on how severe the problems may be.
Have You Heard Other Common Reasons Why People Show up Late for Work?
Certainly, you’ve heard some of the most outrageous excuses for why someone shows up late for work if you’ve been in an authority position for a while. Sometimes the reasons are justifiable and show that the particular employee may need some extra assistance in particular areas of work.
Other times it shows that the employee may be losing interest in and there may be nothing you can do to fix the situation other than to let the employee go. Either way, it is up to you to practice appropriate management skills to discern what the solution could be.
Having honest discussions with employees is the first step to fixing tardiness. For more advice on managing issues in the workplace, check out our for articles.
