Being on Time

BEING ON TIME

Introduction

The best work environment is one in which employers work together as a team supporting, leading, and sharing goals. In such circumstances, it’s up to each person to meet his or her responsibilities and perform quality work. Every employee on the team must help the employer sustain this spirit of cooperation and achievement. None of this is possible unless you get to work on time.

The problem and its consequences

Back during the years of NASA’s Apollo Space Program, people marveled at the precision with which the various rocket engine firings (“burns”) were made. As the Apollo Command Module orbited the earth, at a specific split-second point in time, the rocket engine would fire. It would continue to fire for a specified length of time; then it would shut off.

Then, except for minor course corrections, the module would head toward the moon on a precise trajectory, to be inserted in orbit around the moon at a distance of around 238,000 miles away by another rocket engine burn at another specified time and duration. The return trip to earth was accomplished the same way. With millions of people watching their TV sets, the module world fire retro-rockets at a specified time and duration, fall out of orbit, and come down on the surface of the ocean within a few hundred yards of predetermined spot, within seconds of the specified time.

For any lunar mission to work, all the burns had to be done at exactly the right time, the right place, and in the right direction. Deviation of only a few seconds in the outgoing earth-orbit burn could make the module miss the moon by thousands of miles. Coming back, it might miss the earth altogether. As old- time radio comedian Jack Benny used to say, “It’s all in the timing.”

When an employer hires an employee—especially in a retail or service business that involves providing products or services for customers –timing is often everything. When you are late to work, the business is short-handed until you get there. Many businesses go through an opening checklist to make sure that everything is in place and ready for customers before the doors are opened. If you’re not there on time, the checklist can’t be completed.

Being counted on to be on time doesn’t refer only to the start of the day. Some businesses may five you a morning and afternoon brake. When you are late coming back from your break, customers may be gone. They got tired of waiting and went someplace. Potential sales are lost and your employer will be justifiably angry.

When you are late coming back from lunch, you may make other people late going to lunch, which interrupts the timing and throws the rest of the day’s schedule off. If you late in arriving at your workstation, nobody will be there to take care of customers. The customers may become irritated. They may leave and never come back. They may tell friends about their bad experience.

As it is with rocket engine firings, when you’re late, it can throw everything and everybody off- schedule. Make a habit of being late and although you won’t miss lunar orbit, you may miss your next paycheck. Businesses count on dependable employees. Causes of lateness

 The car wouldn’t start  Snow was blocking the driveway  I had to go somewhere else before work  The bus or train was delayed or missed  The alarm clock didn’t go off  I forgot when I was supposed to start work  My watch stopped running  I forgot that I was on duty today  There was a traffic jam (or an accident) and the street was blocked  I could not find a parking place  I thought I was due in at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. This isn’t Tuesday?

Every one of these reasons is understandable. But NONE of them help your employer, who is counting on you to be at work on time. Besides, each one of these problems could have been avoided if you had planned ahead.

What it means to be on time

Being on time means being where you are suppose to be and doing what you have been told to do, a the time you are expected to do it. Whether you are a salesperson, a clerk, or cleaning cars at the local carwash, being on time means being at the business, at your workstation, ready to perform your job at the expected time.

Being on time does NOT mean

 Making an appearance, then going to the restroom  Punching the time clock, then going on break  Reporting back from lunch, then sneaking out to run a personal errand instead of getting back to work  Getting there on time, but making yourself scarce when customers are around

Being on time means being where you are supposed to be, at the time you are supposed to be there, ready to do what you’ve been hired to do.

Case Studies

Here are a few stories to illustrate how people avoid being on time. You may recognize someone—including yourself.

TIRELESS TIM

Tim is always late. It doesn’t make any difference where he’s going or what he’s doing. Tim never gets there on time. He’s the guy who crawls over everybody else in the movie after the feature has started. When the light turns green, he’s the one who’s asleep at the wheel. He never wears a watch.

Tim doesn’t make plans. He likes to be “free,” as he puts it. For Tim, being on time denies him his freedom. He feels that he can’t be creative if he has to lock himself into a timetable. Consequently, Tim is never on time for the dentist, for lunch, for dates, for anything, much less work.

The first day on the job, Tim came in 5 minutes late. His excuse? “Time got away from me.” The second day, Tim made it to work on time, but got sidetracked on his break and was ten minutes late getting back to his workstation. His excuse? “I didn’t notice the time.” The third day, he left 15 minutes early, which is another way of not being on time. If you aren’t there at all, you surely aren’t there on time.

The fourth day, Tim was back at the job placement office, looking for another job—and he was late for his appointment. LAST-MINUTE LISA

Lisa tries to do too much. She’s involved in so many things; she is too busy to be on time. Lisa has always had problems with time. When she was in school, her science teacher told her that she had problems with both kinds of time: “points in time” and “duration.” In other words, she’s never on time, and she never has enough time.

When Lisa has to be somewhere at a certain time, she’ll wait until the last minute to leave. If she has an appointment at 2:00 p.m., and it takes 15 minutes to get from where she is to where she’s going, she’ll wait until 1:45 to leave. So if anything interrupts her trip from here to there, Lisa is late.

One day, when Lisa was working full-time during Christmas holidays, she tried to finish her Christmas shopping during the morning and afternoon breaks and at lunch. Each time, she was late getting back to work. Her supervisor overlooked her tardiness because it was Christmas. After Christmas, when Lisa returned to her part-time status, the supervisor learned that she was always getting to work and returning from breaks late.

Lisa thinks her supervisor is picking on her. Her supervisor thinks Lisa is unreliable. Actually, Lisa tries to cram too much into each day, each hour, and each minute. She has too many interest and she can’t seem to get her priorities straight.

LIKEABLE LARRY

Larry is a likeable guy. He always gets to work on time. He’s always the first to arrive. He’s never been late to work in his life. The problem is, while he’s never late to work, he’s always late to his workstation. He’s late to his workstation in the morning, after breaks, and after lunch. If he’s called to another part of the store, it takes him forever to get back.

Larry likes to talk. He would rather socialize than sell. He’s never learned to combine the two talents. He stops at all the other workstations to say good morning before he goes to his own. He hates to stop the conversations he starts during break. It’s painful for Larry to return from chats at lunch. He genuinely loves to interact with other people.

Problem prevention and goal-setting

When you have a problem with being on time, you need to set some goals that will help you to overcome the problem. But first, you have to discover the reasons why you are not on time. Ask yourself, “What are the real causes of my being late?” Look for patterns in your reasons, to see if being late is a persistent habit.

As you set your goals, be honest about the real reasons you have trouble getting to work on time. Being on time is one of the most important aspects of established good relations with your employer. Don’t lose your job over something that is so easily avoidable! BEING ON TIME RESPONSES

TYPE EACH OF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS ON A SEPARATE SHEET OF PAPER AND ANSWER EACH USING CORRECT GRAMMAR: Print a copy. The effort you place on answering the following questions will indicate your understanding of the importance of promptness.

1. List the reasons you are usually late to work. If you have never been late to school or work, you may indicate that as well.

2. Look at the list of reasons for lateness. Do you recognize any that you have used? Which are they?

3. Why is it so important to be on time for work?

4. Does your employer have a right to demand that you be on time? What gives your employer this right?

5. What are your obligations to your employer?

6. Do you know anybody like Tim? What advice would you give to Tim?

7. What’s Lisa’s problem? Do you ever have scheduling problems? What are they?

8. Larry can be a pest. What would he have to do to become a valuable employee?

9. What is your assessment of yourself as an employee?

10. Set two goals that will help you to always be on time in the future.