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For some people, getting somewhere on time is an impossible task, while others do not understand how difficult it is. We understand, punctuality is a talent or an acquired skill
What is punctuality
Punctuality is a character trait inherent in a person who is able to fulfill his duties and agreements on time. Such people come to work or a meeting on time, submit reports by the required date. They are collected and do not like to let others down.
The word “punctual” originated at the end of the XNUMXth century and has Latin roots. Initially, a doctor was called punctual, who could accurately and accurately give an injection during the procedure. Over the centuries, the meaning of the word became more general, and as a result it began to characterize people who tend to do any job meticulously. Now, calling a person punctual, they usually mean that he is never late.
The importance of this character trait was discussed in France in the XNUMXth century. King Louis XVIII is credited with the phrase: “L’exactitude est la politesse des rois”, which means “punctuality / accuracy – the courtesy of kings” or “Don’t be late – act like a king.” True, the phrase does not end there and completely sounds like “accuracy is the courtesy of kings and the duty of their subjects.” That is, the meaning completely changes and consists in the conviction that for kings punctuality is due only to desire, while everyone else is required to appear at the specified time. Be that as it may, the words of the French king served as an impetus for the development of etiquette in Europe, where accuracy and skillful handling of one’s own and other people’s time began to be highly valued.
What are the benefits of punctuality?
Punctuality can greatly improve the quality of life and improve relationships with colleagues, and here’s how:
People who arrive on time make a good impression. American writer and educator Dale Carnegie once said: “If you want to win over someone, be punctual.” Indeed, this is the easiest way to demonstrate an awareness of the value of another person’s time.
Order with timings – order with self-esteem. Constant delays make you doubt yourself, your ability to plan time and even your own life.
Punctual people are more trustedbecause they signal to those around them that they are willing to wake up early, be on time, and work hard to finish work on time.
Punctuality helps career growth. Thomas-Chandler Halliburton, a Canadian lawyer and politician, believed that “punctuality is the soul of any business.” And this is not surprising, because the employee’s lateness directly affects the company’s income. If every day you are late for 10 minutes, by the end of the working year you will get 38 hours of absenteeism, that is, a full working week. It is logical that the manager would prefer to promote someone who does not violate discipline and does not harm the corporate culture.
Punctual people have less reason to stress, after all, you don’t need to run to the meeting as fast as you can, arrange to reschedule it and come up with a story about why it didn’t work out on time.
Are there any downsides to punctuality?
The habit of planning a day and doing everything on time leaves no room for maneuver. Proponents of punctuality are not fans of sudden changes. Their day is planned literally by the hour. Hence, they are less flexible in unforeseen situations.
Punctual people tend to be pedantsso it can be hard to get along with them. At home, they continue to adhere to their usual attitudes: there must be control, accuracy and order in everything. Different views on the conduct of life can provoke quarrels and discord in the family.
There is a chance to pass for a bore in the circle of your friends, and it will increase if latecomers are often reminded of their misconduct. People who are more comfortable with temporary arrangements may find punctual people unnecessarily strict.
Is it important to be punctual?
How important it is to arrive on time depends on the country. To be more precise – from cultural characteristics and traditions, which together form a unique system of values, priorities and patterns of human behavior.
The dependence of punctuality on culture was studied by the American anthropologist Edward Hall. He analyzed the behavior of representatives of different nationalities and, based on the collected data, identified two time systems: monochronic and polychronic.
monochronic cultures
В monochronic cultures value their own time and treat others with respect. Planning is the key to productive work and order, and living by the clock is an integral part of the national culture. The very concept of “monochronism” refers to the ability to perform only one task at a time. People with this perception of time prefer to be fully focused on their work and do not like to be distracted.
Germany. German wisdom says: “It is better to arrive 5 minutes early than 1 minute late.” And this is confirmed by a survey conducted by Deutsche Welle, which showed that 85% of the German population takes temporary agreements very seriously and expect the same from others.
United Kingdom. Here, punctuality is just as important. It is not customary to be late even for a friendly meeting, and in case of an unforeseen situation, it is necessary to inform about the delay by phone. It is a strict rule to arrive at the agreed time for official events, lunches and dinners. It is better to arrive at cinemas and performances, at sports games, church services and weddings a few minutes before the start.
Japan also applies to monochronic cultures, but this was not always the case. The Dutch commandant Willen Hussen van Kattendijke, while on duty there in the 1850s, expressed his dissatisfaction with the Japanese lack of punctuality in his memoirs. In particular, he wrote about the unscrupulous attitude of Japanese workers, absenteeism to the workplace, late delivery of building materials, and the fact that such business relations are considered the norm. Now the situation is fundamentally different. It is not known for certain what prompted the popularization of organization and punctuality among the population. There is an opinion that this was a forced measure in response to the rapid process of modernization and industrialization that began in 1868.
Monochronic perception of time is also characteristic of the Scandinavian countries, Switzerland, South Korea, Canada and the USA.
Polychronic cultures
polychronic the time system is inherent in Latin American, Mediterranean, Arabic and some Asian countries. Here time has less value, but relationships between people are more significant. It is believed that this is due to the natural phenomena characteristic of these places that occur spontaneously. And since life is unpredictable, planning and accuracy are not that important.
Polychronic cultures include, for example, our country. In Soviet times, as a measure to combat the untimely attendance of workers, a decree was even issued, according to which being late for 20 minutes was considered a criminal offense. It was canceled only in 1956, having existed for 16 years. However, the situation is gradually improving: according to the SuperJob research center, our country has not become much more punctual in recent years. If in 2009 only 35% of respondents came to work on time, then at the end of 2021 this figure more than doubled and amounted to 2%.
For the Caribbean and a number of African countries and there is an unspoken understanding that the time of appearance will definitely differ from the agreed dates. There is even a special term for this phenomenon – “African time”.
How to develop punctuality?
You can check your sense of time in the following way: set a stopwatch and start reading. The task is to stop reading in a minute, according to your internal clock. As a rule, punctual people finish reading ahead of schedule. Non-punctuals, on the other hand, underestimate the speed of time, and a minute lasts much longer for them.
The good news is, like any character trait, punctuality can be developed. Here are some ways:
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