By Lee Hyo-sik
Choi Min-kyung, a 33-year-old salaried worker living in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, commutes by bus on a roughly one hour trip to southern Seoul.
On the bus she often worries about being late as an accident on the road or other variables can make the trip take longer and make her late for work.
Choi, who works at a small information technology firm on Tehran Road in Gangnam District, also checks a fluctuating bus schedule every morning using her smartphone because if she missed the bus, she would have to wait at least 20 minutes for the next one, which actually happens quite often.
“I am really busy in the morning. I have to fix my husband breakfast and get my 5-year-old daughter ready for daycare. I also have to get myself ready for work,” she said.
Choi said she really tries hard not to be late but one or two days a week she is not on time getting to the office.
“If I miss a bus or something unexpected happens at home, I cannot help but arrive at work late. But my team manager understands my situation and doesn’t’t make a big deal out of it. I am really grateful for that,” she said.
Ahn Eun-hyae, a 30-year-old housewife living in southern Seoul, used to work for a small trading company in northern Seoul.
Ahn said she was not a punctual worker because getting out of bed was the hardest thing in the world for her.
“I don’t know why I was having such difficulty waking up in the mornings while working. Maybe, it was due to work-related stress or something. But since October last year when I quit my job to get married, I have been able to get up early,” She said. “Now, I can prepare a hearty breakfast for my husband without any problems.”
Like Choi and Ahn, a large number of salaried workers here were found to be often late for work, according to online job portal Incruit. In a survey of 310 salaried employees, 35.2 percent said they arrive at work late frequently.
About 66 percent of latecomers said they usually clock in about 10 minutes late, with 25.7 percent being tardy by less than 30 minutes. More than 8 percent were found to be late by over 30 minutes.
Nearly 35 percent arrive at the office late three or four days a week, followed by two days at 25.7 percent and one day at 23.9 percent. About 15.6 percent are late for work almost every day.
Incruit said the habitual latecomers know that failing to get to work on time reflects poorly on their work ethic.
“Nearly 39 percent of latecomers said they get a low score in the performance evaluation because of tardiness,” an official from the institute said.
According to the survey, about one third of the respondents said they end up coming to work late because they overslept, while 14.7 percent cited a long commute from their home. About 6.4 percent said excessive drinking the previous night was a reason for being late.