Millennials more likely to be late at work than other generations

Millennials may now be well into adulthood, with many in their 30s, but they are still Australia’s least reliable workers.

Millennials may now be well into adulthood, with many in their 30s, but they are still Australia’s least reliable workers.

New data from workplace software company Deputy revealed Millennials (born 1981 to 1995) were more likely to be late to a shift than any other working generation, including their demonised successors, Generation Z (born 1996 to 2012).

The study analysed the log-in times of more than 290,000 Australian shift workers to reveal a massive 73 per cent of Millennial males and 70 per cent of Millennial females were late to work at least once in the 12 months to March.

Australia’s most reliable workers were Baby Boomers (born 1946 to 1964), but their results were still not impressive.

The study found 64 per cent of male Baby Boomers and 67 per cent of females began a shift after their scheduled start time.

Millennials (born 1981 to 1995) are more likely to be late to a shift than any other working generation.

Social analyst David Chalke said the figures — while not hugely different — reflected differences in age more so than generation.

“The young are always less reliable because they have other interests and priorities,”

he said.

He said Generation Z workers were likely more punctual than Millennials despite their youth as they were not long out of school.

“They have spent about 15 years in a regimented institution where you follow the rules or end up in detention,” he said.

“They haven’t grown out of (that mentality) yet, but they will get to university and discover sex and beer and end up off the rails like the rest of us were.”

Australia’s most reliable workers are Baby Boomers (born 1946 to 1964).

Deputy co-founder and chief executive Ashik Ahmed said shift workers made up two-thirds of the global employed population and late — or even early — employees could seriously disrupt the day-to-day operations of a business.

“Running five minutes late can add up over time and have serious repercussions for workflow, the morale of team members left to pick up the slack, and even the business’ bottom line,” he said.

The Star Entertainment Group general manager of talent acquisition Josephine Dalton said punctuality also affected the customer experience.

“If someone doesn’t show to work on time, the flow-on effect is that another employee may need to work back to support the guest,” he said.

“If they cannot, fewer employees are there to support our guests, so reliability does ultimately affect our guest’s experiences.”

Junior sous chef at The Star’s Flying Fish Rebecca Merhi says Millennials are “always on”. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Millennial and junior sous chef at The Star’s Flying Fish Rebecca Merhi said she did not believe her generation was less reliable than any other.

“No-one wants to let their teams down or (leave them) short staffed for any period of time,” she said.

“Millennials in particular are ‘always on’, whether checking and responding to emails and administrative tasks outside of work hours, or eager to step in to fill shifts and help out team members.

“We’ll always put our hands up to do the hard work.”

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