Employee tardiness problem........

[cavemanmoron]

Dock him 15 mins pay,
for anything over 3 mins, Every time, it happens;
that will motivate the person the leave for work, earlier.


As a side note;

Take the bus to work?

I have more than one vehicle insured and roadworthy,
if I have a vehicle problem, when its time for work,
I just get in another one.

Are you in a crowded area like NY City,
where the transit system is often slow,
or an area like LA where the traffic is slow often??

Originally posted by: redgtxdi
Ya, it's only 10 minutes.


HR in this case is really the owner of the company. He handles payroll himself & he establishes a conduct of promptness in the facility he runs. (I run a satellite for him)

He does work hard when he's at work, thus I'd hate to lose him, but it's almost as if he just wants to make sure he's not held down by "the man". (Yes, there could be a racial thing to this too.......no, he's not black).

I don't mind a few minutes late, but Friday, yesterday and today have been 8:12, 8:11 and 8:10 respectively.

I, honestly, don't care.....(I've got the rest of the employees walking the line) but it's just frustrating 'cuz I look like a pushover & I'm really not. I just, really don't want to turn into a 'prick' of a boss. I create a good work environment & give these folks all the breaks I can & we do well.....(we grew substantially last year & all shared in the profits).

Just frustrating.....:|

 

[sao123]

Originally posted by: redgtxdi
Interesting............


Definitely a 3-way view on this whole matter no matter who you are........(there are so many management styles out there & everybody has a book on what works best........tyrant, nice guy, mix of both, etc. etc.)


Early
Who cares give or take a few
Late...always.....never gonna change & why be such a d!ck about it.


And I'm sure that all 3 types can be great workers, period.

Is there a best???

Is "punctual but an idiot" better than "slacky but great worker"???

I think it depends on the situation...
If the job is such that punctuality is a necessity, then it is important... lateness on an assembly line, or lateness in a job where you are in direct contact with customers & outsiders... then obviously there is a problem.

However i have always been a favorite of productivity as a measure... if (not withstanding the above) you all have time to surf, take smoke breaks, chat, and the office is not a strict disciplinary place, then I dont see 12 minutes in the morning any different. The guy seems to have his work done, and doesnt seem to negatively affect anyone else from doing their work... Then the age old "punch-in punch-out" to the second is outdated, and often counter productive.

Finally, when a worker is taking a public transportation which he has no control over when the bus arrives, leaves, and how many stops it makes... if he has to take the bus (for whatever reason, whether chosen or forced) then that bus schedule has to be taken into account and not held against him.

 

[imported_Baloo]

Give him a raise so he can afford to buy and maintain his own car.

 

[puffff]

your post didnt make it clear, how often are these streaks? if its like once every 3 months, and he's on time and hard working the rest of the time, i'd say cut him some slack.

 

[redgtxdi]

Ya, approx every couple months or so.

We hired a "female" as a new hire so his attendance recently got reeeeeeeeeally good, but the novelty has worn off and now things are getting back to normal.

I was actually thinking of the "docking" strategy.

I'll ask, but I'm curious if anybody knows the max "block" of time that can be docked from someone being late??

(i.e. if someone's 3 minutes after the hour, can you only dock them 15 minutes? 1/2hr??? a full hr???)

A full hour's docked pay would certainly get anyone's attention!

 

[TreyRandom]

Originally posted by: redgtxdi
Ya, approx every couple months or so.

We hired a "female" as a new hire so his attendance recently got reeeeeeeeeally good, but the novelty has worn off and now things are getting back to normal.

I was actually thinking of the "docking" strategy.

I'll ask, but I'm curious if anybody knows the max "block" of time that can be docked from someone being late??

(i.e. if someone's 3 minutes after the hour, can you only dock them 15 minutes? 1/2hr??? a full hr???)

A full hour's docked pay would certainly get anyone's attention!

Why don't you tell him that if he's later than 8:05, he can't start work until 9:00? That way, you won't accidentally violate any laws by making him work without pay for the better part of an hour.

That said, I'd cut him slack if he's a good employee who is willing to be flexible when you need him to work late.

 

[Tuktuk]

Originally posted by: redgtxdi
Ya, approx every couple months or so.

We hired a "female" as a new hire so his attendance recently got reeeeeeeeeally good, but the novelty has worn off and now things are getting back to normal.

I was actually thinking of the "docking" strategy.

I'll ask, but I'm curious if anybody knows the max "block" of time that can be docked from someone being late??

(i.e. if someone's 3 minutes after the hour, can you only dock them 15 minutes? 1/2hr??? a full hr???)

A full hour's docked pay would certainly get anyone's attention!

You need to either give him an ultimatum or find a workable solution as others have suggested. To dock his pay unreasonably (him being late does not entitle you to free labor) will only result in your having an unhappy, and therefore inefficient, employee. Even the previous reply about not letting him start work until 9:00 a.m. is not going to help.

This isn't kindergarten and you aren't his teacher. Either you tell him to show up on time or be fired, or you offer a compromise if coming to work on time is very hard for him to do. To play these games with punishment is childish and if I were subject to it you can bet I'd be looking for a new job the second I got home.

 

[ChaoZ]

IMO some managers are too anal about time if it works against them. They wouldn't complain if the employee comes early and works until his required time, while not getting paid for the times they work extra.

 

[Slacker]

Originally posted by: redgtxdi

Originally posted by: AdamK47
So I've got a boss who always goes on these streaks of a few days of posting on ATOT.

I've talked w/ him, slacked off, told him that IS has had it, it's got to be news sites or nothing (even giving him a break).

His problems arises when he sites idle with nothing to do because his manager buddies can't find another reason for a pointless meeting.


Any suggestions??

(Don't really want to quit, but man this is getting old & makes me look bad when IS shows his browsing history)

I *am* IS, IT, CEO, CFO and every other acronym you can find. Without me the work day doesn't start because the business doesn't open. Due to my 12 years running the show solo & providing the owner of the company w/ a supplemental 6 figure income, I am eligible to partnership in profits (we have an unusual agreement that earns me percentages of the company and profits) and can do whatever I please. Fair or not, I've earned it and run a morally and ethically sound business.

You would probably wish you worked for me if you could as I try hard to make certain everyone wants to come back the following day.

As for this guy's situation..........he's banged away on 3 different women (none of which he married) has kids w/ all of them and pays child support so far up the @$$ that he can't afford to pay attention.

Thus his transportation dilema.
Thus his life dilema.

Sorry to disappoint.

Fire the clown that hired this fool!

 

[soulcougher73]

Glad i dont work for a company like that. I can come in in 6:30am thru 9:00am. As long as i get my 8 hours in its all good. 10 minutes is nothing out of a whole day to worry about.

Of course this is America the slave to the grind country

 

[redgtxdi]

Originally posted by: Slacker
Fire the clown that hired this fool!

That'd be the owner.......

 

[wheresmybacon]

Originally posted by: Phokus

Originally posted by: BoomerD
Youse folks are spoiled. I've never worked a job where my starting time was variable. You HAD to be at work and ready to go at the set time, or you were fired. For much of my career, I drove more than an hoiur each way every day, some jobs it was more than 2 hours each way, and I still managed to be on time every day. Yes, commuting in the bay area occasionally throws some challenges at you, and ONCE in a while, some moron would so something stupid, and cause the CHP to close the freeway, and I'd be a few minutes late. When that happened, I ALWAYS called the foreman/superintendant to let them know what was going on.
I was raised with the attitude that if you're not AT LEAST 15 minutes early...you're LATE!
Since this is an office job, where it's not critical that the guy be there exactly at 8:00, MAYBE some leeway could be showed, BUT, if everyone else manages to be on time, why should this guy get special treatment?
IMO, give him a final warning, then either suspend him for a week, or fire his ass.

"When i was YOUR age i had to walk barefoot in ice with a 50 pound backpack to get to school!"

"GET OFF MY LAWN!"

^--- this is what i thought of when i read your post

I work for a corp with 300k+ employees and we come in whenever we want (as long as it's before 10:30 i think).

ROFL @ "GET OFF MY LAWN"

:laugh:

 

[Imdmn04]

So it's an office job, but what kinda of office job?

Does this job require punctuality in order to relive another's duty? Does this job require a lot of group interaction?

If this is like a programming job or any job that one can work fairly well being alone, I don't see the point of making him come earlier as long as things get done.

 

[HamSupLo]

you're an asshole boss who should get fired for surfing during work time. I don't care how many years put in, but you put these rules over your employees, but you violate them on your own. You're one of those bosses everyone hates and if i were your boss, i'd fire you so everyone else will be happy and more productive. besides watching the clock, surfing ATOT, and wondering about your employee's personal lives, do you do anything productive at work? or do you feel a sense of self worth by being a tyrant?

 

[redgtxdi]

Originally posted by: HamSupLo
you're an asshole boss who should get fired for surfing during work time. I don't care how many years put in, but you put these rules over your employees, but you violate them on your own. You're one of those bosses everyone hates and if i were your boss, i'd fire you so everyone else will be happy and more productive. besides watching the clock, surfing ATOT, and wondering about your employee's personal lives, do you do anything productive at work? or do you feel a sense of self worth by being a tyrant?

Yep.....that's me. The relentless tyrant!

Ya know......I think I hear your mother calling. You shouldn't have ditched school today!.........

 

[Wheezer]

Originally posted by: HamSupLo
you're an asshole boss who should get fired for surfing during work time. I don't care how many years put in, but you put these rules over your employees, but you violate them on your own. You're one of those bosses everyone hates and if i were your boss, i'd fire you so everyone else will be happy and more productive. besides watching the clock, surfing ATOT, and wondering about your employee's personal lives, do you do anything productive at work? or do you feel a sense of self worth by being a tyrant?

See people with attitudes like yours never go very far. You tend to forget that the there is a reason that they are the boss and you are the worker...when you realize that difference and why it is there, you might be a boss someday. Instead pf complaining about what others do, focus on your work like you are paid to do and maybe you might get there someday.

Much like life the workplace is not fair. The rules that guide the workers do not guide the management, and vice versa. Workers are paid to listen to their bosses not the other way around...don't like it? Find another workplace where you might feel more appreciated ..and don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

 

[GeekDrew]

Originally posted by: mugs
If my company wanted to be anal and say I have to be here at 9:00 on the dot or I'd be fired, I'd comply. I'm very capable of getting to work on time if I'm required to do so. But then I'd hold them to their end of the bargain too - I'm out the door at 5:00. Customer's server goes down at 4:58? See you at 9:00. (OK, I wouldn't actually do that, because I'm not a dick). I actually like my job, so I'm willing to work late to finish something up. I VPNed in at 11:00 last night, because I had an idea about something. My company gets more out of me by letting me do things my way than by making me show up at 9:00 every day.

My thoughts are similar... employers will definitely get more out of me if they let me do "my own thing." I used to work for a public school system, and was allowed to have somewhat flexible hours. As a result... I was usually there half an hour early, and left half an hour to an hour late, just because I enjoyed what I was doing, and was glad that they'd not say anything if I was late occasionally. <edit>For clarity, the time I worked before, after, and (unscheduled) during my regularly scheduled day were not billed; I did it for free.</edit>

My current employer isn't as nice. I've been late a few times lately, due to inclement weather interfering with my normal commute. (Yes, I "could" have left the house an hour earlier, but I doubt that even Satan could have woken me up at that hour. I'm *not* a morning person.) We have another employee that's fairly frequently late, by just a couple of minutes -- she's always there before 8:15, and she's almost always there by 8:05. She's been that way for years and years and years, she says she's incapable of getting *anywhere* on time. She always works enough time at lunch to make up for any time she misses *AND* the office deducts the lapsed time from her vacation. Our bosses decided that they were going to start deducting 15 minutes for each X minutes an employee is late. I advised that they ask their legal counsel on his opinion on that... yeah, didn't take but a few minutes for that policy to be rescinded.

But, as a result of the bosses being jerks about being punctual, *all* employees are now working the exact time we're paid for, and not a second more. We all sign in at (or a minute or two) before 8, we take exactly 60 minutes for lunch (and, for a change, don't work through it), and are walking out the door at exactly 4. They're not doing anything but hurting themselves.

The office used to have an excellent employee morale, but now it's so low that not even explosives could make the hole any deeper. They want to treat us like children... fine, we'll adapt to their description.

Originally posted by: cavemanmoron
Dock him 15 mins pay,
for anything over 3 mins, Every time, it happens;
that will motivate the person the leave for work, earlier.

Employers should check with their legal counsel before doing that. That is illegal in many cases, if not all. I don't know the law, and I'm not an attorney, but I've read about it and heard about cases.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: redgtxdi
Ya, it's only 10 minutes.
He does work hard when he's at work, thus I'd hate to lose him, but it's almost as if he just wants to make sure he's not held down by "the man". (Yes, there could be a racial thing to this too.......no, he's not black).

If it's only 10 minutes late, he's getting his work done, and he has to rely on the bus system (so chances are that the earlier bus could be MUCH earlier), what's the big deal?

 

[Dunbar]

Originally posted by: GeekDrew

My thoughts are similar... employers will definitely get more out of me if they let me do "my own thing."

I agree, I worked for a few years in our corporate office where it was strict 9-to-5 hours. Nobody stayed late except the owner. Now I work in a field office where I have the flexibility to work when I want. I frequently stay until 6 or 7 o'clock at night. But just knowing I have the option to leave early or late makes a big difference.

But I think the problem with flexibility, particularly in a big office, is you'll get people abusing the policy and ruining it for everybody else. They took us from 5 sick days to "no set limit" trying to reduce the number of sick days people took. It actually had the opposite effect so they went back to 5 sick days about 6 months later.

 

[GeekDrew]

Originally posted by: Dunbar

Originally posted by: GeekDrew
My thoughts are similar... employers will definitely get more out of me if they let me do "my own thing."

I agree, I worked for a few years in our corporate office where it was strict 9-to-5 hours. Nobody stayed late except the owner. Now I work in a field office where I have the flexibility to work when I want. I frequently stay until 6 or 7 o'clock at night. But just knowing I have the option to leave early or late makes a big difference.

But I think the problem with flexibility, particularly in a big office, is you'll get people abusing the policy and ruining it for everybody else. They took us from 5 sick days to "no set limit" trying to reduce the number of sick days people took. It actually had the opposite effect so they went back to 5 sick days about 6 months later.

I don't necessarily think that I would agree with having no set limit on sick days... that's just begging for abuse.

Flexibility generally works better with more responsible employees, and doesn't work well at all with those that are less responsible. At the job that I previously mentioned was flexible, that was just for my department. No other staff had remotely flexible hours, because their duties had to be performed during certain hours. We didn't have to have everyone there on time in my department, as long as *someone* was there to represent the department in case of emergency.

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: redgtxdi
I don't mind a few minutes late, but Friday, yesterday and today have been 8:12, 8:11 and 8:10 respectively.

This easily solved.

Tell him his new work scheduled has been shifted half an hour - to 7:30am.

 

[GeekDrew]

Originally posted by: SagaLore

Originally posted by: redgtxdi
I don't mind a few minutes late, but Friday, yesterday and today have been 8:12, 8:11 and 8:10 respectively.

This easily solved.

Tell him his new work scheduled has been shifted half an hour - to 7:30am.

... unless the bus schedule lines up with that perfectly, and he's there at 7:30 am promptly, every day.

 

[thomsbrain]

dock his pay for a full hour if he is more than 5 minutes late. that will alleviate the financial damage he's doing by not showing up on time and maybe kick his ass a little.

 

[techfuzz]

I wouldn't cut it where you all work 8:30 is "officially" the start of the day, but I will typically be at work between 8:15 and 9:15. Traffic where I live is unpredictable (and there is no reliable public transportation system I could ride). But then again I don't mind taking < 30 minute lunches, no breaks, and staying late in the evenings to make up any "missed" time if I am late.

techfuzz

 

[MrDudeMan]

so was he late today?