May 20, 2008 11:24 pm US/Central
Good Question: Why Are Some People Always Late?
(WCCO)
When WCCO-TV reporter Jason DeRusha arrived at work Tuesday at 10:05 a.m., his bosses had a Good Question: Why are some people always late?
"There's all kinds of reasons that people are late, and there's no one reason," said Kate Harri, M.A., Vice President of Behavioral Medical Incorporated in Edina.
"It's a habit pattern for some people where they just don't plan it out well. They think they can do more than the time allows and everything is priority number one," she added.
Harri believes that some people have mental health problems that result in chronic lateness, things like Attention Deficit Disorder. However, most are just victims of a lifelong bad habit that they are unwilling to change.
"We don't like to change habits," said Harri. "The challenge is deciding how important is it to be on time."
"I'm an on-time person," wrote Alexis, in a comment on
DeRusha's WCCO.com blog. "A girlfriend of mine has been consistently 20-plus minutes late for everything (everything!) in the 15 years I've known her."
According to Alexis, "Her problem is often distraction; she starts doing one thing or another when she should be concentrating on just getting out the door."
Harri backs up that theory. She believes people need to learn how to prioritize.
"If you actually learn to do that, you can change. Because it's a habit, it can take at least 30 days," she added.
Katie Tierney commented online, "No offense, Jason, but I see consistent tardiness as a character flaw. It leads me to believe that you think you are more important than the people who are waiting for you."
Harri said that most people who are chronically late are not thinking that way, however, she acknowledged that people who are waiting for the late people certainly can feel that hurt.
"If it bothers your partner or spouse, it matters. If it bothers your managers at work, it matters. If you get in trouble at school, it matters," said Harri. "If it has an impact that that person is experiencing, it's a good thing to say to that person, 'When you are late, here's the impact it has, and I want you to do something about it.'"
Harri said there's nothing wrong with telling a "little white lie" to a chronically late person, telling them a party starts at 7:00 p.m. when it actually starts at 7:30 p.m.
David commented on the WCCO.com blog writing, "I think if you are known for being 15 minutes late, you should always be 15 minutes late. Nothing's worse than expecting people to show up late and having them stroll through your door ON TIME when you aren't ready to greet them."
In other cultures, being on-time is not something that is valued, however, in the United States punctuality has become a social expectation.
"The type-A [personality] is more likely to be on time, because they expect things to get done and let's get them done now, so they're gonna be more wired in that direction," said Harri.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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