A Wren Says

It was a picture of an adorable cub, hanging on to the screen door. In the background were woods. What you likely couldn’t see was the mama bear lurking, ready to attack anyone who came close to her cubs. The picture could have been a beautiful shot of what it’s like to live in a cabin in the woods. But instead, it was a picture sent to a boss. This is why I will be late to work today. If I make it at all.

I saw that image in a longer post of people writing about the best reasons they ever had for being late to work. It was people humorously sharing their experiences, but there was an underlying thread. Lack of trust. I need my boss to believe that I have a valid excuse to be late today, because I cannot risk losing this job.

And then there are those with less ridiculous events. Perhaps they just slept through an alarm, or didn’t check the traffic, or maybe they entered the days of their schedule wrong, they too will be late. But they will get a little less grace.

I think it’s time we reconsider tardy policies. There has to be a way for us to ensure that our businesses are fully operational and properly staffed and to support humans. Especially in the world of retail, where clock-ins are managed via apps working on spotty wi-fi and where the stakes are relatively low, what are the best late policies? What are the ways that we can encourage employees to come to work on time? Could it be by recognizing their humanity first and foremost so that they want to come to work?

I will end it there, lest I go and do an unnecessary level of research on this topic, but I think it’s something to consider. Your HR policies are a part of your company’s marketing plan. The more ways that you can make you business a great place to work, the better you’ll do. Maybe this is a good place to start.