Always late to work?

You skipped your breakfast. You skipped combing your hair. You wore unmatched sandals but you didn't go back and change them. You even broke a few traffic rules to get to work faster. And yet, you were still late... for the third time this week.

Now what?

Give them the truth

If your reason is genuine, tell them exactly what happened. If you were late because you didn't have any household help, and had no one to take your kids to school, then tell your boss what happened. Yes, it may sound like a typical excuse, but if your boss is a human being, they will probably listen to you. Give details about all the things you did to avoid being late, and sincerely express how terrible you feel about it. Owning up to your mistakes is half the ticket out of being told off. However, remember to not spend too much time explaining- you don't want to waste even more time with details, and you also don't want to sound like you're faking an excuse even when you aren't.

Be smart:

If you go with your gut and use a fake emergency as excuse, like "My aunt had to be rushed to the ICU," chances are, when these situations really do come up, they won't believe you. You don't want to become the boy who cried wolf. If you must lie, lie smartly. Your aunt having a stroke will usually not be followed by three other family members facing crises in the same week (hopefully). Avoid repetitive usage of the various forms of the "I was really sick" excuse. They might be reluctant to give you bigger responsibilities that may help your career: either they will believe you actually get sick often (hence, giving you more responsibility would be too much for you) or realise that you make excuses too often (because you don't care about your job). Either way, it's a loss.

Do something about it:

• As soon as you realise you are going to be late, call, or formally email them and let them know you are running late, and give them an estimate of how much longer it will take for you to get there – this shows that you genuinely care about the valuable output and time you lost from your working hours.
• If you're going to be very late, call up a colleague and ask them to cover for you for a little while.
• Work extra hard. Show them that even though you are a little tardy, you are still worthy of your position and that you give your work importance.
• Do overtime if needed.
• Prove to them that you will honestly try to not let it happen again. Don't show up late the very next day and be surprised if they don't believe your excuse.

Susmita is a Literature major who lives on tea and sweet toast. Reach her at susmita.newaz@gmail.com.