HR MANAGEMENT - 'Late Sitting'- what it is, and its adverse effects

'Late Sitting'- what it is, and its adverse effects.

Posted By Sampriti on 25-12-2008  in the Blog Category HR /Management

A few years ago, sitting late in the office used to be something that one did to catch up on last minute deadlines or an urgent errand that cannot be missed, but not anymore. There will always be the flipside of necessary evils and thus ‘late sitting’ in the office is something that seems to have transcended the category of things falling strictly under work and has produced a new breed of workers who sit in at the office for no apparent reason or to kill time. ‘Late sitting’ used to be only that time when employees stayed back for genuine work reasons, but the new breed of late sitters can be detrimental to the organization by not only giving out wrong vibes to the team members or fellow workers but also by regularly putting a strain on the company resources (especially in small or new companies). Every organization wants to employ a highly productive and efficient workforce. Finishing one’s work in time is one the most important parameters of efficiency and sitting late in the office and working after the office hours is not indicative of efficiency or higher performance. It leads to an awry work life balance and hampers the ambience of the office space, often creating a sense of inadequacy or unworthiness in other workers. Employers should understand that working late in the office cannot be a criterion for judging the caliber of the employee. The employee who sits in at the office does not necessarily perform better than the others. Rather, the person who schedules his/her work well, co-ordinates with team members and arranges the work to be done is a more efficient worker and usually gets the work done in time. Thus a late sitter is usually a person who needs to stay back either because he/she is an inefficient worker or commits to more than he/she can deliver or someone who wants to create an impression of hard work while trying to conceal some areas of concern. Managers can avoid the problem of late sitting in the office by ensuring that all team meetings are made mandatory with a properly designed work schedule and comfortable deadlines for both the employees’ and company’s benefit.Employees can be encouraged to plan their work too and focus on becoming a team player and asking for help if one needs it without it reflecting negatively on the appraisals.