Employees get creative when tardy to workplace

When it comes to excuses from late employees, the boss hears some real doozies.

Among the offerings in a telephone survey of 150 executives:

• “The dog was asleep behind the car and I couldn’t back out of the driveway.”
• “My car keys fell into the toilet.”
• “I couldn’t find a tie to match my shirt.”
• “I hit a mountain lion on the way to work.”
• “I forgot what day it was. I thought it was the weekend.”
• “I’m not late — I decided to change my hours to make them more convenient.”

“While these examples are humorous, they address a frequent challenge for managers,” said Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps, a temporary staffing service based in Menlo Park, Calif., that conducted the survey. “An employee’s habitual tardiness can affect the productivity of the entire team and overlooking it reinforces the behavior.”

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