Is it desirable to be on-time? YES. Should an intelligent person's estimation of any quantity, time included, become more accurate the more times the estimation is made? YES. So why are people late? It's because they are allowed to get away with it - there is no incentive to increase their time-keeping accuracy. How many times have YOU in response to “sorry I'm late” said, “don't worry about it” etc. DON'T - you are encouraging this selfish antisocial behaviour and making it more likely that they will be late for me tomorrow! Although at times I have gone into a bit of a rant at someone who's been late, or simply left after 5 mins of waiting (not always practical), it is often necessary to be a little bit more polite. I have taken to saying, “perhaps you had a good reason”, and moving on. And perhaps acting on behalf of karma at a later time. I most definitely do not excuse it.
2 comments:
I get caught up in this because I take it as a sign of disrespect, to me. If I'm competent enough to get to work a few minutes early, you should be able to at least arrive on time.
I have a very warped sense of fairness when it doesn't pay to my favor.
certainly it is possible to train people to be much more likely to be on time for you than for other people - this fact certainly supports the supposition that if someone is late for you then they made a choice. i.e. it is absolutely a sign of disrespect.
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