Are attitudes about punctuality changing?
If you’re 10 minutes late for an in-person meeting or Zoom meeting is that rude or is it the new normal?
| Chances are, how you feel about running 10 minutes late at work is a good indicator of how old you are. While it may be a sign of disrespect among baby boomers, Gen Zers don’t see the big deal.
In fact, according to 2024 research, the youngest generation of workers believes 10 minutes late is still right on time. The online meeting company Meeting Canary asked over 1,000 British adults about their attitudes toward punctuality, and almost half of those ages 16 to 26 said that being between five and 10 minutes late is just as good as being punctual. However, tolerance for tardiness decreased with age. While around 40% of millennials said they are forgiving of colleagues running 10 minutes behind schedule, this dropped to just 26% for Generation X and 20% for baby boomers. Adding to that, those with baby boomer bosses should probably avoid being late at all, even by just a minute, because in their eyes, “If you arrive after the agreed time at all then you are late,” the report cautioned. A staggering 70% of boomers surveyed said they have zero tolerance for any level of tardiness. Why the punctuality discrepancy? It’s not surprising that Gen Zers lack a strict sense of timing. They entered the workforce from the comforts of their home during the pandemic, where it was common courtesy to wait longer for people to dial into a meeting in case they were experiencing tech issues. In reality, many of them have probably never experienced the embarrassment of walking late into a meeting and being stared at by their entire team, who are begrudgingly waiting for them to start—and perhaps they never will. |
