Cecil was late.
Again.
His attitude to work amazes and fazes everyone. The impunity. The brand-new story for every time he is late. Brazen, blatant. Lackadaisical.
Now, for the DoTTs (what I call Defenders of The Tardy), there are a million reasons (flimsy and cogent, alike) why people like Cecil always report for duty long after the attendance register has been ruled off; one of his many reasons:
‘But you know I live in faraway Mpape, Abuja’, for instance (No disrespect to those who live in Mpape; this is just for example sake)
‘Hey, excuse me! Michaela lives in Suleja, Niger state and is always at work before you, Mr. Mpape!’
Meanwhile Mpape is, on a good day, about 45 minutes’ drive (if not less) to Maitama, where he works. It is pertinent to note that there is only one entrance to and from Mpape, so if, for any reason, that lone entrance is encumbered by irate and impatient taxi drivers spewing forth road-rage lingo or by a fallen truck, then the population of people living in that area will either not be at work that day or they will be late.
The reason above is the most bandied reason most people use, at least in Nigeria’s FCT, Abuja: that they live very far away from work. And then you begin to wonder what the conduct of these employees will be if they lived and worked in Lagos and its environs.
A lady who works in a government hospital once had a reason for being late to work, 6 days in a row: ‘Oga
(Sir/Boss), sorry. You know I don’t have a (house) maid’. And that, dear readers, is a reason?!
When workplace behaviour (work ethics) is being discussed, aside stealing from the organisation and all other fraud-related vices, the next key issue hammered on is usually that of punctuality to work and work- related events.
Punctuality to work (and every other thing, for that matter) is a conscious, dispassionate and deliberate activity. Thus, to achieve it, the following tips will go a long way:
- First off, acknowledge that you have a problem with being punctual
- Be realistically conscious of time
- Set watches and clocks 15 minutes fast
- Have a clock in every room – in the convenience, in the bedroom, in the sitting room, in the kitchen, oh yes!
- Wake up on time or when you are supposed to
- Commit to being 15 minutes early, at least, for everything
- Be organised; where do you keep your front door keys? Are your clothes for the next day all set out? Decide on the colour of eye shadow and lipstick to wear ahead (yes, lady) And the shoes, the socks and inner clothing to wear. Gentlemen, this applies to you, too.
- Sleep on time. This is key. Very key. Remember, ‘early to bed, early to rise’.
- And, if you’re running late, the decent thing to do is to call or send a message across of the situation of things at your end.
Be the kind of person that is always punctual to work and meetings, so that if you’re five to ten minutes late, people get truly worried. You distinguish yourself in the workplace when it is erroneously perceived, by virtue of your conduct, that you are the owner of the business when you are only an employer. That’s what intrapreneurs do: they possess an ownership mentality.
I have a question for you: Are you an intrapreneur?
dGrammarQueen Stella NnodiAbuja-FCT
+234(0)8163171944
