One-in-Five Canadian Workers Late to Work at Least Once a Week

Eleven percent said they are late two or more times a week.  

According to a press release, workers shared a variety of reasons for being tardy, such as lack of sleep (24%) and traffic (24%). Fifteen percent blamed public transportation for their tardiness, while twelve percent indicated bad weather delayed them. Other common reasons included getting kids to school or daycare, Internet use or their spouse.  

Hiring managers provided the following examples of the most outrageous excuses employees offered for arriving late to work:  

• Employee claimed a bear stopped his car and broke his window and tried to grab them. 
• Employee claimed a prostitute stole their car keys. 
• Employee claimed he couldn’t find his clothes. 
• Employee claimed his dog ate his blackberry. 
• Employee claimed he ran over himself with the company truck. 
• Employee claimed they were playing a video game and didn’t want to break up the group they were playing with.  
• Employee claimed their grandmother went missing. 
• Employee claimed they forgot it was a workday. 

Thirty percent of employers said they have terminated an employee for being late.