What do you do if your Coworkers Tardiness Extends your Shift
The work day can be frustrating enough without having to contend with a coworker who is late all the time. When a coworker is consistently tardy, you and other employees are forced to pick up the slack until they finally show up. This can cause a chain reaction like ruining plans you had for after work, create schedule conflicts for appointments and just plain make you mad. You do not have to put up with this constant thorn in your side, there are things you can do about it. Read on to learn sometipsand tricks.
Talk to them
The first thing you should try is talking to them. Pull them aside and talk to them in private so as not to embarrass or shame them. You want to extend this courtesy because you do not know what their situation is outside of work. Perhaps they are late frequently because of scheduling conflicts with only one household vehicle or they have child care issues. Try not to judge them harshly since you do not walk in their shoes, so to speak. Without being really nosy, ask him/her if they can try harder to be on time from now on. Explain how their tardiness is affecting you and your life. Be polite and approach them in a friendly manner, being rude and aggressive will only make them defensive and possibly angry.
Speak to your coworkers
If the tardiness effects everyone on your shift, then talk with them about it. Perhaps they will be willing to get together and approach the tardy coworker and ask them to start arriving on time. Sometimes when someone is approached by more than one person, the message gets across a little faster. The fact is, no one likes the idea the office being mad at them! One key thing to remember when approaching the tardy coworker: do not use "mob mentality". You all are not ganging up on your coworker, simply getting together and asking them to try harder to be on time for their shift.
Trade shifts
Ask your tardy coworker if they would be willing to trade shifts with you. This would stop your problems with their tardiness. You would be relieving them and you do not have a tardiness issue, right? If they agree to trade shifts, you cannot decide to give them a taste of their own medicine and start being tardy. It might sound like good revenge to be tardy and extend their shift so they understand what it feels like, but it is not right to do so.
Speak to your supervisor
This should be a last resort because you could end up getting the tardy coworker fired and that is not the objective. You simply want to end the tardiness because it affects you directly. If you have tried everything you can think of, then speak to your supervisor. If the tardiness is really excessive, there is a good chance your supervisor already knows and is considering what to do about it. No matter how angry you are with this coworker, you do not want to be the reason they lose their job. Be careful how approach your supervisor, use non-threatening language and do not make any ultimatums.
Ask for a transfer
If the company you work for has other locations, then ask about transferring to one of them. This is a good option for people living in the city where many businesses have more than one location. If your business does not have more than one location then asking for a transfer could mean having to move to another town/city. If this is your situation, then you have to ask yourself if the tardy coworker is worth moving over.
Look for for a new job
Sometimes circumstances are beyond your control at work and you may just have to find a different place of employment. Yes finding a new job can be a pain in the neck but it might be the best option given your situation. Just keep in mind that there are difficulties in every job and you might get away from the tardy coworker, but could end up with an even more frustrating situation.
With every job come a certain amount of unpleasant things like...well, work for one. It is not much fun spending all day/evening at work and it is even worse when you have a coworker who is constantly late, which makes you have to stay longer. Instead of just griping under your breath, take steps to resolve this tardiness dilemma. You can either address your coworker face to face or keep quiet and enjoy the extra few minutes on the time clock. The truth is, when it is time to go home, most people are ready and do not appreciate being made to stay longer than they are scheduled.
