If You Are Late, You Are A No-Show

That means go home and have a nice day.

I once worked at a place where that sign was on the door. Once the door closed, and you were late, you were a no-show. Don't come back. Don't get paid. Enjoy your day off. Hope you find another job. Especially if you didn't call in advance... and that calling in advance was a RARE thing (like basically never!!!) At the time, as a teenager, you hate that. But then you realize it's teaching you to be a responsible global citizen. That your actions have consequences and affect others.

So...

I work in a day job where deadlines are important. Especially for big events. Especially when dealing with hundreds of people relying on you. Especially when one mistake or delay can throw off a process for everyone else.

Where paying attention to your e-mail correspondences on a daily basis is important. Because with a large number of people we communicate with, it is impossible to do one-on-one calls with everyone.

You'd think graduation and registering for graduation would be a priority if you're a senior... and if you really care about participating in a ceremony... and if you know this is an important day for your family. You'd think...

But people don't think. People think because 1) They couldn't find your office; 2) They live 50 miles away and only commute in once a week; 3) They never "knew" about a deadline... that it means we can make individual exceptions for their irresponsibility.

It is an excuse.

And unfortunately, it's fellow people of color, in this case, black people, who are making my job difficult with sob stories.

I hate this.

Now, I'm not one to talk about how I was raised. But I will in this case... My family taught us to honor time -- our own and other people's. Getting to work, to a meeting, to church, to whatever... is important. It's a sign of respect, courtesy, honor, and integrity. The same for deadlines. We were taught a deadline is the latest day, so why not be the earliest when turning in forms, payments, papers requested. I don't know about you, but our family didn't/doesn't operate on "CP" time. Most of the time, "CP" time is another word for an excuse for not taking responsibility.

So what am I to do? I am hearing a million sob stories about why I couldn't, why this isn't fair, why can't you make an exception, I never knew... and it's driving me batty.

Why can't people take responsibility, read through materials, get informed, and be on time? Geez... it's not that difficult.
fs