Brits more likely to be late for work than a birthday party

A study into staff tardiness by hotel booking site LateRooms.com has found that Britons are more likely to turn up late for work than personal social events.

The survey reveals that:
• 10% of Brits have turned up late for a job interview
• Men are more likely to be late for a business meeting than women
• And a quarter of people believe it’s more acceptable to be late now than in previous decades.

A third of those surveyed also admitted to being late for work at least once a month. More shockingly, nearly four in 10 (37%) run late at least once a week, with employers bearing the brunt of an estimated £9 billion a year in costs caused by tardiness.

The research reveals that people in the UK are nearly four times more likely to turn up late for work than they are a holiday flight and almost 19 times more likely to be tardy for work than their own or a friend’s birthday party.

The Welsh appear to be the most punctual employees, with only 4% saying they’d arrived late for an interview in the past three years and only 7% for a business meeting. Meanwhile, those from East Anglia are the tardiest at 12% being late for meetings.

Younger workers are the worst offenders when it comes to turning up late for work. Nearly 40% of the 18-24s surveyed said they often turn up late to work. Comparatively, only a fifth of the over 55s quizzed said tardiness strikes in the workplace.