Is workplace punctuality still as important as it once was?

The importance of punctuality is drilled into us from a young age – even at school, children are encouraged to arrive on time, and breaks and lessons are often marked by a bell. It’s all to do with preparing the children today for their careers of tomorrow, instilling a culture of promptness and reliability. But, as working professionals, we don’t have the luxury of “the grown-ups” telling us what to do, when to do it, and hurrying us out of the door on time – as much as we might wish we still did.

Instead, punctuality is up to us as individuals, and we all know the importance of it – whether that’s arriving to an interview a few minutes early, showing up for your first day of work on time, or continuing to be a reliable and dependable employee by always being ready to log-on at the time specified on your contract (remotely or in-person). However, where we may once have panicked at the thought of being five or 10 minutes late for something – frantically texting bosses with excuses about issues with traffic or train delays – research shows that society, and therefore attitudes, may be changing.

Here, we’ll explore what’s happened to timekeeping, whether it’s still as important in the workplace today as it was in decades past, what’s causing potential shifts in mindsets around it, and much more.

Is timekeeping at work still essential?

To some generations, timekeeping at work is crucial. It can help people come across as eager, dedicated and respectable, and can go far in creating a good first impression when meeting new employers, clients or customers. On the flip side, arriving late is often seen as being lazy or careless, and can paint an impression of being unreliable. 

According to a report carried out by Meeting Canary, an online video-call company, different demographics view timekeeping in very different ways. We’re currently inhabiting workforces made up of at least FOUR generations now, so it’s important to understand what matters to each, so that we can work as efficiently and productively as possible.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Meeting Canary discovered – in their survey of over 1,000 British adults – that younger workers are the least bothered about tardiness. In fact, they revealed that just under half of people aged 16 to 26 (Generation Z) felt that being between five and 10 minutes late is essentially the same as being on time. 

When asked for their thoughts on staff being 10 minutes late, 40% of millennials (those born between 1981 and 1996) said they’d be forgiving, 26% of generation X those born between 1965 and 1980) agreed, and just 20% of baby boomers (those born between 1955-1964) said the same.

Why do different age groups perceive timekeeping differently?

Attitudes towards punctuality across the age groups can be attributed to a multitude of factors. For baby boomers, it’s likely they were raised in environments that encouraged job stability and organisational loyalty, while navigating a world of economic struggle and uncertainty, meaning they were more likely to dedicate themselves to their careers in the hopes of bettering their futures. 

Their children, often Generation X, grew up with the advent of technology and the invention of the internet, which completely changed the way people work and communicate. Old-school mindsets still existed, of course, but a greater emphasis was placed on work-life balance and the challenges around juggling a family while both parents worked. 

Millennials and Generation Z have always inhabited a world ruled by technology, and they can often have different attitudes towards their careers than those felt by older age groups. Millennials often entered the workforce at a time where job stability wasn’t guaranteed, nor pay rises or promotions, so they can sometimes view each job as a stepping stone – valuing their salary, work-life balance and career development higher than things the previous generations may have put on a pedestal. For Generation Z, many came into their formative years during the pandemic, where the world mainly operated remotely and online, so transition to an in-person work environment with rules around timekeeping and dress code, for example, will not only be an adjustment – but also completely alien to them.

How can organisations mitigate these discrepancies?

Reasons for differing attitudes aside, it’s important that each generation can interact and respect each other, especially when it comes to management – considering there’s likely to be a big discrepancy with the mindsets of junior workers compared to those more experienced. 

As the younger generation becomes more embedded in the workplace, it’s likely that they’ll become better at adhering to the rules around timekeeping. Equally, though, with the rise of remote and hybrid-working showing that productivity and output isn’t necessarily governed by the specific time you arrive somewhere, perhaps those more old-school mindsets will also gradually shift, resulting in – hopefully – a happy medium.

To learn more about what different age groups want from the world of work, check out our What Workers Want report for 2024, where examine the views of almost 12,000 professionals and employees across a broad spectrum of industries and demographics.