CASE STUDY # 10: HE DOES, I DO

The aim of CSC to be Asia’s leading center for excellence for strategic resource and organization development, compelled them to develop policies, standards and programs that promote work-life balance, drive individual and organizational performance, and maintain high levels of employee satisfaction and engagement. 

One of the implementing rules of CSC is the work schedule of government officials and employees to render a total of forty (40) hours a week; thus giving the public assurance of core working hours from eight in the morning to five in the afternoon for the duration of five (5) days which excludes lunch time to give employees enough energy to work with enthusiasm in the afternoon.

The early morning buzzer of an alarm clock or a phone’s alarm app can be one of the worst sounds in the world to a sleepy employee; repeatedly muffling it on “snooze” is never a good idea. Showing up on time in the office everyday benefits the employee’s performance and professional habits. Consistent unexcused tardiness can mean short-term penalties and lifelong consequences.

Let us see the sides of Mr. Sanchez, the Director and Roy, the rank and file employee. Let us start with Mr. Sanchez. Being on top management, he is working more than 40 hours in a week because all of the things happening and will be happening in the office is under his responsibility and at times, he had to go to the extra mile of his work, he even emphasized that he sometimes work on weekends without pay; making it stressful for him; thus, leading to him to be late at the office at times.

He might have been late because of some important cases to be done which are work-related. He might had an important meet-up with a client early in the morning because we do not know why or what the reason is, but it must be reasonable enough for him to be walking in at the office around nine or ten, perhaps.

The car that he is using is not his but it was a privilege given to him because he had to attend some appointments to clients that require his time right away. And being in the middle of traffic can have some negative effects to him or to the agency he handles. The service vehicle is attached to his duties.

The number of minutes he is late in the office and not deducted to his leave credit is practical because any problem in the office will be reflected to him; these problems can be enough reasons for him to be terminated in his position. It is worst than deducting those late to his leave credits.

However, I do not agree when he said, “He should wait until he becomes a boss.” He has a point there, but he must also take into careful consideration that he started as a rank and file employee and he should know better than Roy of the experiences that he had to go through to be where he is. Instead of somehow putting it as an obstacle, he should have used his position to be an inspiration to Roy; not a distraction.

Rank and file employees like Roy, are responsible for the day-to-day operations of a business; without rank and file members in the fold, very few organizations would survive. True, executives or heads are responsible for developing strategy and implementing large-scale plans; however, rank and file employees actually perform the job functions that support the organizations strategic plans and processes. Therefore, Mr. Sanchez should not overlook the importance of rank and files because it is a mistake.

And lastly, he said, “I had to follow the rules too.” The use of had is inappropriate because had is indicative of the past, does it mean that right after being a director, he isn’t following rules anymore? Being on top management, he should pose himself as a good example to his subordinates.

He has enough expertise in his industry or niche and he should be showing to them or teaching them the proper things to do and how to apply it so they don’t make the same mistakes. He holds authority and is viewed as a credible source of integrity and passion; then he must also learn to take full responsibility of his actions; including his own tardiness.

Let us now take Roy’s side; a rank and file employee who gets notices because of arriving late at the office.  Management has the responsibility and right to actively manage flexible working arrangement in their organization. Roy, who keeps on complaining of being late, could have asked his superior for a flexible time, to arrive before 9 in the morning and leave the office at 6 in the evening – still constituting the 8 hour policy.

However, if he opts to have a flexible time and was allowed to do so, he must at all cost support and enhance the efficient operations of his department or office. It should also be taken into consideration that office should still be staffed during the working day, including lunch breaks; and his flexible time schedule will not disrupt the services offered by the agency.

Aside from that, if arrangements are made, Roy must always be available for a review of his tasks and responsibilities after a period of six months in operation. This is necessary to know if the impact of his new schedule is suited to his work-life balance and his tardiness issues, too. If everything is smooth-sailing then the agreement must be continued, however, any tardiness or lack of number of hours in service for the day – necessary sanctions should be imposed and the opt to follow the standard time of 8 in the morning until 5 in the afternoon will be remained.

The comparison of Roy to his Director is unethical at some point because his responsibilities are lesser compared to Mr. Sanchez’. Being a director is a busy and demanding position because he has to look after all aspects of customer service. That means recruitment; training and management are among his duties – along with developing contracts with clients. He needs to be good with almost everything plus an ability to lead and motivate a team.

Yes, rank and file employees are the lifeblood of organizational success but there would be no rank and file employees without the initiatives of the supervisor. Roy’s responsibility is to be the reason of fruition of the projects of the agency and to be the backbone of the achievement of the director. If he wants to be on top, he must know where he should place himself at the organization for now.

Traffic is not a new phenomenon in our lives. Since Roy knows the difficulty of getting on time at the office due to traffic then he could manage his time extremely well but calculating the amount of time he travels by traveling the round at least 15 extra minutes than usual. The traffic that he keeps on reasoning for being chronologically late should not control him, excuse him or make him late or hold him back. He should know how to plan around it because being stuck in “unavoidable” traffic is never an emergency.

Who is wrong and who is right? Notions of right and wring usually are attached to behavior or actions.  So for me, they both are right and wrong because they are judging each other with the use of their own yardstick. I have not perfect measure to who among them should I be supporting, I do not have a legit measure.

But as for me, none of them is right or wrong because the real issue here is being tardy and they are both guilty of the crime that they are raising to each other and yet none of them would like to humble themselves and try to talk things out.

Both of them, and us, have choices in all things in life. If we see someone arriving late, let’s not make it a big deal since what he does with his time doesn’t matter at all to us that much.

Roy cannot change his director’s tardiness, but he can always change his. Let this be a gentle reminder to him in a gentle tone and his director might get the message. If you change yourself and your perspective on things, it’s as if others have changed as well.

We are all responsible individuals, we will only take on as much as we can handle. If we are reliable, we will meet our commitments to others or break our commitment professionally if we cannot make it. If we are smart, we will prioritize our activities. If we are considerate, we will plan ahead, show up early and set ourselves as good example to others.

Being late is not in our DNA. It is not something that we inherit from our family. It is not a characteristic trait. It is just a habit, and like all other habits, it can be broken or preserved. It is just a matter of personal choice and priority.

We’re not afflicted with tardiness. Our mind has the power to train us and become the most punctual person we could ever know. Being late does not make you an important or special person. Whoever you are doesn’t deserve you the right to be late. Being late once or twice in life may be unavoidable but being late consistently makes you unreliable.

Being late clearly says that you do not respect other person’s time, only yours. Being late affects your boss’s impression of you and damages your upward mobility. And being late consistently implies that you are rude and lack all consideration and respect to the client as well as to the commitment you made.

Above all, learn to take responsibility of your actions, and use your failures and missteps as learning experiences. You cannot always blame someone for the things that is going on with your life; you can only blame yourself for that. If you continue to take full control of yourself, you’ll be amazed by the lessons you can carry with you for the years to come, and how those lessons can truly help others.

We must do what we think is good or better; something that will never compromise our ought in the government service; to serve the public at all cost possible and to set ourselves as persons willing to grow; and someone who the public can trust and view as authority figure.

Serenity prayer: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.”