Late Again?  Causes (page 1 of 2)	
Late Again?  Causes	
Is lateness common?
Experts estimate that 15% to 20% of people develop habits of chronic (l
ong-term or happening for years) 
lateness or tardiness.  Chronic tardiness affects all people — young and old.
How does tardiness affect a person?
Late-comers to appointments, meetings, and work shifts:  1) Face embarrassment 
when others, who show up on time, begin to think the person has a proble
m.  
2) Are greeted with unfriendly glances, rolling of eyes, and sarcastic rema
rks such 
as, "We're glad you can  finally join us."  3) Create anxiety (stress) inside themselves 
thinking of excuses for tardiness: "The traffic held me up."  "I could not find my 
keys."  Coworkers become tired of the late-comer's excuses, and become t
ired of 
doing all the work until the late worker arrives.  
Psychologists found that people who are always late:  1) Score lower on
 Tests of Empathy (ability to feel 
what others are feeling); lower on Tests of Self-Esteem (feelings of positive self worth); and lower on Tests 
of Self-Discipline (ability to control one's thoughts and actions).  2
) Score higher on Tests of Anxiety 
(feelings of worry, stress, nervousness) and higher on Tests of Distractibility (attention jumps from topic to 
topic blocking the skill of concentration).  
Tardiness affects the way others see you and the way you see yourself.  Employers fire workers who are 
often tardy.  Employers do not give raises and promotions to workers who are often 
tardy.  
What causes chronic tardiness? 
1) Rationalizing (Fooling Yourself with Excuse Making):  The tardy person may  blame events ("The 
traffic was terrible today").  The tardy person may  blame other people ("Wow. I am only 15 minutes late. 
Why is the boss so angry?  He must have an anger problem.").  The tardy person may  deny the 
problem ("Hey, we all need to learn how to be flexible").  Excuse making leads you to think that you have 
good social skills when your actions prove to others that you have 
no social skills.  Excuse making prevents you from seeing tardiness 
as your problem and correcting it.
2) No Self-Discipline:  Another word for self-discipline is will 
power (or power within).  Self-discipline gives you the skill to know 
that you need to do something, then 
do it — even if you do not feel like doing it.  Life is a conflict between — SHOR T TERM WANTS and 
LONG TERM GOALS.  Examples of short term wants:  I want to smoke.  I want to call in sick today.   Examples of long term goals:  I want to improve my health so I will not 
smoke.  I want to get a raise so I will not call in sick unless I am really sick.     
The road you walk tomorrow will be set by the actions you take today!  
Self-discipline helps creates a smooth freeway for your work world life.

Late Again? Causes (page 2 of 2)	
3) Thrill Seeking.  Some people enjoy the rush of adrenaline (chemical the body 
produces when faced with stressful situation).  The adrenaline rush and stress from 
running late makes some people  feel fully alive, clear thinking, and have super 
energy to meet deadlines.   Adrenaline rush and stress only make you think you are 
thinking better when you are not.  Adrenaline rush and stress: 1) harms your health 
(blood pressure and heart) and 2) creates unhealthy relationships as 
others feel your 
stress.  A better way to create positive "feel-good" chemicals in your body is to 
participate in exercise programs, tennis, dance, yoga, swimming, or work
outs.       
4) Busy Bee.  On the way out the door, you stop to do little jobs (check messages, feed dog, water plants) 
until you discover you are late to work again.  Or, you think that arriving early is a waste of time so you try 
to squeeze in little jobs before leaving for work.  Think of extra time before a work shift as valuable time.  
Your body's biorhythms (physical, emotional, and mental activities) wor
k best with a short rest before a 
busy day.  When you arrive early, you can rest, think, plan, and focus so that you are your best self th
at day.
5) Planning Fallacy (failure to judge time correctly):  Psychologists say lateness is due to a person's 
lack of thinking skills to judge how long a task will take (such as eat
 breakfast, get dressed, drive to work).  
"Late-arrivers tend to judge time differently than their on-time friends," says Dr. DeLonzor, author of 
Never Be Late Again.  When people were asked to read a book for 90 seconds, "early birds" stop
ped before 
90 seconds, but "lateniks" put their book down well after 90 seconds.  Also, Dr. Conte, psychology 
professor, found that on-time people estimated one minute (60 seconds) took 58 
seconds, but relaxed 
persons estimated one minute took 77 seconds.   Lateniks think time goes slower than time really does, 
so lateniks will always be late!
6) I Don't Care Attitude.  Always late people may have an "I Don't Care" attitude because they:  
1) Do not care about feelings and lives of others, or  2) Like the att
ention of arriving 
late, or  3) Want to prove power over others by delaying the meeting until they arrive
, 
or  4) Have narcissistic personalities (think they are better than oth
ers).  
QUICK CHECK:
1.  a) What percent of people develop habits of 
chronic lateness?  b) Define chronic.
2.  List 3 ways that tardiness affects late-comers?
3.  Of what 2 things do coworkers become tired?
4.  People who are always late:  a) Score lower on 
what 3 tests.  b) Define empathy.  c) Define 
  self-esteem.  d) Define self-discipline.  
5.  Tardy people:  a) Score higher on what 2 tests?  
b) Define anxiety.  c) Define distractibility.
6.  Define rationalizing.
7.  What 3 things may tardy people blame or deny?
8.  What does excuse making prevent?
9.  What is another word for self-discipline?
10.  What skill does self-discipline give to you?
11.  a) Life is a conflict between what?  b) Give one  example of short-term want and long-term goal.
12.  By what is the road you walk tomorrow set?
13.  a) Define adrenaline.  b) What 3 things does 
running late make some people feel?  c) What 2 
things does stress do to your body?  
14.  a) Describe what a busy bee stops to do.  
  b) When you arrive early, what 4 things do you 
have time to do?
15.  a) Define planning fallacy.   b) What do 
  psychologists say?  c) What do lateniks think?
  d) So what will lateniks always be?
16.  List 4 reasons for an "I Don't Care" attitude.
17.  Define "narcissistic" personality.
18.  a) Which of the 6 reasons for tardiness do think 
tardy people use the most? 
19.  a) Do tardy people make you angry?  
  b) Give a reason for your answer.  
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