Career Cube Blog

Punctuality is defined as being where you are supposed to be when you are supposed to be. Over the years, our society seems to have lost its sense of urgency when it comes to being on time for anything. To make matters worse, we justify it by saying things like “Everyone else gets to meetings or class a few minutes late so it’s OK for me too.” You may not realize it but when you are not punctual, people make one or more of the following judgments about you.

You Are Unorganized

Being late is not good and racing into a meeting or class out of breath is almost as bad. Figure out ahead of time how long it takes to get somewhere and leave early enough to get there. If you are going from one meeting to another, build in the appropriate amount of travel time. How hard is that?

You Are Really Not Interested

Being late can be interpreted to mean that you are not interested in that person, not interested in that project, not interested in that class…etc. Because if you really were, you would do whatever it takes to be there on time.

You Are Disrespectful

Everyone has other things they need to do. By not being on time, you are saying you don’t think that person is all that important or that their time is all that valuable.

You Are Arrogant

Repeated tardiness is seen as being done on purpose. The implication is that somehow you think the person or people are beneath you so who cares if you’re late?

You Cannot Be Trusted

This is the bottom line judgment people make and they will never come right out and tell you. The indicators are when your manager, colleague, teacher…whoever…doesn’t seem to chat or make eye contact with you as much as they used to. You get this sense of being “dropped off the list” and not “in the circle anymore.”

These points sound very harsh. Yet sociological and business studies show that not being punctual is extremely hazardous to your image and ultimate success. All of these judgments determine your credibility. Once you’ve lost credibility, it’s almost impossible to repair the damage and get it back.

by Arcadia Communications 

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