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April 18, 2021

Workers admit to being habitually late for work: Report

Does your morning routine typically involve hitting the snooze button and then scrambling to get out the door?

A new Careeerbuilder survey reveals that 16% of workers arrive late to work at least once a week. What's worse, almost one-in-ten admit to showing up late at least twice a week.

Actual reasons for being tardy vary from worker to worker, traffic is the main culprit with close to one-third (32%) of workers claiming it caused their tardiness. Nearly a quarter (24%) point to lack of sleep, while seven percent pin the blame on getting their kids ready for school or day care. 

Many tardy people tend to be both optimistic and unrealistic, says Diana DeLonzor, author of “Never Be Late Again”, and this affects their perception of time.

Tardy people tend to think that they can make up for their lateness by working extra hours, she says, but all they usually do is leave a bad impression that can damage a career – even in jobs where schedules are more flexible.

And the consequences of not showing up on time can be dire: Roughly one third (34%) of employers claim that they fired at least one employee for being late.

Despite this, being late for work clearly stimulates some people’s creative juices. Here are a few of more outlandish excuses CareerBuilder has unearthed recently.  

  • I got mugged and was tied to the steering wheel of my car.
  • My deodorant was frozen to the window sill.
  • My car door fell off.
  • It was too windy.
  • I thouht I was already at work.
  • I had to go to the hospital because I drank antifreeze.
  • I had an early morning gig as a clown.

Are you usually on time for work? What do you say when you're not? What's the most wild excuse you've heard from others?

By Gordon Powers, MSN Money

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Gordon PowersGordon Powers

A long-time fund company executive, Gordon Powers now heads up the Affinity Group, a financial services consulting firm. Gordon was a personal finance columnist for the Globe & Mail for many years, has taught retirement planning...

Jason BucklandJason Buckland

The modern-day MC Hammer of money, Jason can often be seen spending cash that isn’t his with the efficiency of a Wilt Chamberlain first date. After cutting his teeth as a reporter for the Toronto Sun, he joined the MSN Money team with...