Withdrawal Behaviors, Lateness

In organizational research, employee lateness can be considered the orphan of behavioral outcomes. Compared with absence and turnover, the two other commonly studied withdrawal behaviors in the field, investigations of lateness and its correlates, are much fewer in number; and perhaps more importantly, they are not anywhere as rich in theoretical explanations of the underlying construct. In organizations with set time schedules, lateness has traditionally been defined as arrival after the beginning of the workday. Both the individual and the organization suffer from employee lateness. An individual coming late may be docked some pay or, if it continues at an unabated rate, may be asked to leave. Because time can be translated into money and is usually a component in gauging efficiency, an employee in ...