Disclaimer: this may not apply in your country. In Mexico it is mandatory to be late.
Imagine that you and your friends agree to go out for dinner. You get to the restaurant on time (well, alright, you are 5 minutes late).
Of course none of your friends has arrived… You get a table and wait. Good thing they serve free totopos so you can deceive your hunger. After half an hour the first friend appears. And then another. The last one is about 2 hours late. Of course, you cannot order until everyone is there. And they take their time to decide. You finally get your food 3 hours after entering the restaurant. It is your fault, for being on time.
The solution: next time try to guess how late everybody is going to be and arrive even later, so you don’t have to wait for anyone.
So? It’s dinner, why should everyone be punctual?!? Are you some kind of punctuality nazi?!?
The problem is that the same thing happens in business activities. One person arrives late to a meeting, causing everyone else to be late to other meetings, in a snowball effect that makes everybody’s daily agenda as accurate as the Romanian train schedule. But that’s fine, everyone understands and everyone does it.
It gets ugly though when you apply the dinner scenario to employee work hours. Most of the companies in Mexico turn a blind eye to employees that arrive late. 40 minutes, one hour, even more. You can always blame the traffic.
Why would a company do that?
Because they know they can ask them for extra hours on a regular basis, without extra pay. So they are expected to stay late daily and work weekends once in a while.
So it would seem like a WIN-WIN situation: employees can be late and the company gets free extra hours – everybody’s happy!
WRONG!
The employees that DO get to work on time are the LOSERS! They get the same treatment as the other ones. Extra hours, weekends, everything. And they actually seem less “involved” with the company if they leave on time at the end of the day. Yeah, everybody knows that staying late is the measure of your commitment to the company. Being on time doesn’t matter… the boss is not there to see you.
Of course, the boss arrives as late as possible too.
Por fin entendiste la filosofía mexicana!
Solo te llevo 6 años!!! Felicidades!
Moraleja: llega lo más tarde posible y vete temprano!!!
Y si crees que en las empresas privadas es un desastre esto de los tiempos deberías ver a los dependientes del gobierno.. llegan tarde como 3 hrs y se van 3 hrs antes y solo trabajan como 30 min los cuales son el tiempo de los TACOS mañaneros!!y no te atrevas a interrumpir porque te mandan a la chin….da
Bienvenido a México…
Pero como dice el refrán; Donde fueres, haz lo que vieres. y para ti aplica camarón que se duerme, se lo lleva la corriente!!!
Saludillos!
buen post…
Concuerdo con Erika, y no quiero hechar de cabeza a ciertos conpatriotas del centro y sur del país que se toman 20,000 horas de comida, llegan con la fresca de las 6pm y obligan a todos sus proveedores a estar hasta altas horas de la noche como si no tuvieran vida o algo mejor que hacer.
Puaj, maldita filosofia fea del mexicano jaja.
Buen post!
Javascript Rules!
Lo que no entiendo es, si no te agrada, ¿por que trabajas en México? Simplemente cada quien decide donde es mejor trabajar y es tu desición trabajar en México según veo.
@Heriberto: So instead of trying to improve the way things are done your solution is to run away?
Maybe it is not clear, but there is a proposal in my post, I’m not just complaining: get the best out of ALL your employees by establishing clear work schedules.
Disciplina es algo que se puede aprender, simpre y cuando quieres realmente hacer una diferencia.
Sooo, debería de llegar temprano entonces?
@Angel:
Actually, it means that, while management does not enforce clear work schedules, it’s better for you to arrive as late as possible. Just take care, because even so, there are limits
domn sef, iar te vaicaresti? pe vremurile cand eram si io prin frumosul si insoritul Monterrey am rezolvat problema intarziatului… le-am spus la toti ca ora este dupa datina elvetiana! eram foarte serios cand spuneam asta si o repetam de fiecare data cand pomeneam de invitatie… si minune mare, 90% din invitati veneau la timp… programatorule, iti mai aduci aminte? si in nici un caz nu i-am pedepsit pe cei care se prezentau la timp! [se pre ca aste este primul post pe blogul tau pe limba mioritica… aia care se scrie cu "O" nu cu "u"
Cómo le hago para tener el iconito que yo quiera?? jaja
Por qué Erika es radioshack?
@Angel: http://en.gravatar.com/
And I have no idea why Erika is Radioshack.
@Angel: Or wordpress accounts – Gravatar merged with WordPress.
@Alex cel batrin:
Salutare domnu’ shaf!
Problema mea nu e cu invitatiile… ala era doar un exemplu. Problema e faptul ca in companiile astea daca vii la timp si ai "nesimtirea" sa pleci la timp esti privit rau pentru ca nu esti "loial" companiei. Ironic, daca vii tarziu si pleci tarziu esti bine vazut, chiar daca pe total stai mai putin timp. Mai mult, de obicei persoanele care stau peste program o fac pentru ca sunt ineficiente in orarul normal.
Cei din conducere cred ca obtin timp extra gratis si lume multumita ca poate ajunge tarziu, pe cand in realitate alunga oamenii cu adevarat buni si raman cu ore multe dar de oameni ineficienti.
Propunerea mea (nu ma vaicaresc, hehe) e ca se poate profita mai bine de cele 8 ore zilnice ale unui angajat in momentul in care politica firmei stabileste clar care e orarul de lucru si il impune in practica (si nu trebuie sa fie neaparat aceleasi ore pentru toti).