I can’t understand for the life of me why there are still people in this economy who show up to work whenever they feel like it.  Woody Allen once said that 80% of success is showing up.  This is something I whole heartedly agree with, but I would make a small modification.  Eighty percent of success is showing up on time.

I know of far too many people who take this lightly and even more who lose their jobs because they fail to report to work on time repeatedly.  When organizations are deciding who to layoff and when, this can be the deciding factor between you and a colleague.  While everyone seems to think that they use only seniority, they also look at performance, the quality of work, the work ethic, and the commitment of the individual to the organization.

On the topic of visibility, I know that telecommuting arrangements are becoming more and more popular these days and I fully support them, but be careful that you still maintain the visibility and credibility in your workplace.  If you do choose to telecommute and are near the office, do your best to be in the office at least once a week, whether to attend a meeting or to work from the office.  People who are never seen or heard from, are likely layoff candidates.

The reason I bring up the topic of habitual lateness, is because its low hanging fruit.  If you can be 15 minutes late, you can be 15 minutes early and so on.  If you are a chronically late person, plan to arrive 15 minutes early and you’ll probably be right on time.  Otherwise, I have news for you, job cuts are coming and they are talking about YOU.