Alright, a show of hands. On the count of three. How many of you out there were late for work last Thursday, the day of the snowstorm?
Before we begin, if it was your day off, please kindly abstain from voting.
And for those who get nervous before quizzes, not to worry. it’s an open book test. So if you can’t remember if you were late or not and have to consult a time tracker, or the company security system if you don’t have access to a time tracker, feel free to do so. I’ll wait.
... Later that day.
OK. Looks like everybody’s good to go, so let’s proceed: 1,2,3.
Wow. That’s quite a large group. Even bigger than I had anticipated.
Moving right along, on to question number two. Of those who were late, how many told their boss it couldn’t be helped given that the weather was so bad?
Ready to raise your hands again? Terrific. On your mark, get set, go.
Uh, oh. The entire same group. Oh well. Anyhow, that concludes the survey portion of the column. Now for the analysis of the results portion.
A word of warning to the hand-raisers who couldn’t make it on time for their respective shifts and when they did arrive, provided the standard explanation. The way-too-snowy sob story doesn’t cut it, I’m afraid. We tend to get blanketed in the white stuff occasionally this time of year. This is Canada, after all.
And don’t dare be fooled if your boss let your tardiness slide last Thursday. Companies tend to give employees a mulligan when it comes to the first blizzard of the season. I wouldn’t press your luck after the next big snowfall, if I were you. Ditto for those of you who are routinely late for work and assume that blustery conditions are a licence to meander in late. It’s never a good idea in any season, but make no mistake, ’tis definitely not the season for such a game plan.
The reason is simple. When we’re about be to hit with a snowstorm there is always plenty of heads up on TV, radio, in the newspapers, online, around the office. Everywhere. It’s impossible not to know it’s on the way.
What’s more, given that we go down this path every winter, if you try and give examples of why you couldn’t make it on time, your boss has a laundry list of well-rehearsed comebacks for any occasion.
If you say both your bus was late or it was bumper to bumper on the highway, you’ll be advised you should have left earlier. If you say you couldn’t get up the hill in your car, you’ll be reminded you should have had snow tires on by now. If you say your battery went dead, you’ll be informed you should have had your annual winter tune up. And so on. The list at his or her disposal is as endless as it is obvious.
Which brings us to the present. There don’t appear to be any predicted outbursts this week and the forecast for Christmas Eve is for light snow only.
So my advice is you’d best think twice before calling in to say you’ll be running late that day. Because if you do, your boss will be licking his lips as he smirks: "If Santa can get here on time all the way from the North Pole, you shouldn’t have any trouble making it from Scarborough. Buh-bye now. See you at precisely 9 a.m. sharp."
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