Dealing with Employees Who Struggle to Manage Their Time

3 Min Read By Bruce Tulgan

Time is precious. Everybody gets just 168 hours in a week. Employees almost always want more free time and more control over their own schedules. Managers typically see employees’ time as a business resource to be optimized. Thus an incessant tug-of-war over time is always being played out.

 

What is to be done with employees who simply cannot live by a schedule? Tardiness, leaving early, and taking too many breaks. Why do these problems nag away at managers?

 

In some cases, managers are right to attribute these problems to an employee’s blasé attitude or a lack of care, consideration, or diligence. When that’s the source of the problem, there is no substitute for constant reminders in your regular one-on-ones. Just by focusing on it, you are likely to make it better, at least for a little while:

 

Manager: You’re late.

Employee: I know. I’m sorry. I overslept.

Manager: You are supposed to be on time.

Employee: I know. I’m sorry. There was bad traffic.

Manager: You…