Time Is Just A Social Construct, Or Something, Part 3
We are hiring a new assistant for the office. I am expecting a young woman for a job interview. Her resume indicates that she’s never worked a full-time office job before, but despite her being professionally very young, this is an entry-level position, so I will let the interview speak for itself.
Unfortunately, she comes running into the office half an hour late.
New Hire: “Sorry! So sorry! I’ve never been to this side of town before, and I got a bit lost!”
Me: “Well, it’s not the best start, but I can give you the benefit of the doubt that if you got the job you wouldn’t get lost again?”
New Hire: “Oh, definitely not! I know the way now!”
I shake it off as a bad start but with a reasonable excuse, and I give her a shot. The interview goes well despite the punctuality, and she gets the job.
On her first day of actual work, she comes in half an hour late again.
New Hire: “Sorry, so sorry! My cat puked everywhere this morning! I had to clean it up!”
Disappointing, but understandable. We get through her first day of training.
She turns up forty minutes late on her second day.
New Hire: “Sorry, so sorry! I didn’t realize I was almost out of gas until I was almost here and had to turn around to fill the tank!”
Annoying, but whatever. We get through her second day of training. She’s half an hour late again on her third day.
New Hire: “Sorry, so sorry! I forgot to press ‘go’ on my laundry last night, and I woke up this morning with nothing to wear, so I had to finish the washing and drying!”
Every day that first week, she’s late. She always seems apologetic and always has an excuse as to why it happened. It all comes down to poor planning on her part, though, so at the end of the week, I need to have a conversation with her.
Me: “Listen, you’ve been late every day this week.”
New Hire: “I know! I’m so sorry!”
Me: “You can’t be late again next week. It always seems like something is happening with you to make you late, so maybe aim to be in the office half an hour before your start time? That should take into account any issues you have in the morning.”
She accepts my guidance.
On Monday morning the next week, I see her rushing into the office exactly at 9:00 am.
New Hire: *Smiling at me* “Look! I made it on time!”
She barely made it on time, but it’s still an improvement over last week, so I take it. She still takes plenty of time to fix herself a coffee, check her phone, use the restroom, etc. She’s not at her desk properly until 9:20 am.
For the entire rest of the week, she comes in at 9:00 am exactly and goes through this same routine. She still gets her work done, though, so I don’t kick up too much of a fuss.
At the beginning of the next week, she comes in at 9:00 am again and I say a simple, “Good morning.” She then comes over to my desk, looking a little angry.
New Hire: “Look, I have been on time every day this week, and you haven’t congratulated me once!”
Me: “Yes, but that’s the bare minimum expectation for your role. You can’t expect a pat on the back every time you’re on time. Everyone else in the office makes it in on time, and they don’t expect to be rewarded.”
New Hire: “I just don’t think you understand how hard it’s been for me to meet your standards.”
Me: “Well, since we’re talking about this, my standards are that you are at your desk working by 9:00 am, so you’ve been falling short of that. Now, I know that this is your first full-time job, so I am cutting you some slack, but if I am being truthful, you’re still putting in the bare minimum, and not every employer would be so willing to be this patient with you.”
New Hire: “Are you serious? I am doing the job!”
Me: “And you’re getting paid for it. I’m not asking you to go ‘above and beyond’ or do extra. I am asking you to do your Monday-to-Friday, nine-to-five. You don’t get rewarded for that; you get paid.”
New Hire: “That’s creating a very toxic workspace!”
Me: “Is it? If it is, you’re the only one who thinks so. What has the potential to create a toxic workspace is when everyone else in the office is at their desks doing work at 9:00 am after having been here for half an hour already to get settled, while you rush in with a few seconds to spare. How is that fair?”
She seems upset but doesn’t push the issue further.
For the rest of that week, she seems to fall back into the bad habit of coming in late again. It gets to the point where, at the end of the month, we have her thirty-day probationary review, and we explain that we’re letting her go.
New Hire: “Your loss. I’m going to get a job in a nicer office where they don’t demand that you be on time all the time!”
I wish I could be there when the full force of “the real world” hits her all at once.
Related:
Time Is Just A Social Construct, Or Something, Part 2
Time Is Just A Social Construct, Or Something
