Punctuality in the Workplace

493 Words2 Pages
The Human resource Departments’ crack down on punctuality in the office In today’s connected world where we have access to work email on our cell phones and our work laptops with us at our hips at all times does the issue of punctuality in the work place need to be a serious one like it used to be? I think not. For professionals who work in an office environment and are salaried they should be able to sometimes stroll in a few minutes late so as long as that priveledge isn’t abused. Recently the HR department at the company I work for has implemented a new policy for all associates where we must be in the office within five minutes of our scheduled work time or we can be marked tardy. Three tardy’s within a quarter then results in disciplinary action and eventually could result in dismissal. Ouch. On one hand I can understand HR’s role in wanting to enforce this type of rule, however, up until now it has always been left to the discretion of management who has been very relaxed; as all associates travel often for the company and give up their weekends. So, a few minutes here and there should be no big deal. The flip side is that with talking to managers no one has had any problems with associates being tardy and therefore this corporate crackdown comes as a bit of a surprise as there doesn’t seem to be an immediate need for it. The other major flaw in this new system is that no one from HR is around to police it. Our HR department is in an adjacent building and rarely ever do they come to our side of the building. In training of this new system the HR department offered that this new policy will help create more productivity and set the foundation for continuous improvement. Unfortunately however, this policy only seems to have stirred the pot within the office and employee morale seems down for some who are no longer able to enjoy one of the valued benefits

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