There are few things as nerve-racking as being late on a first date, job interview, or even a flight. Being late for something almost always makes you feel like you don’t seem focused. As a matter of fact, according to a new study, Americans panic about being late even if they are only 10 minutes late.
The research was commissioned by St Pierre Bakery and was conducted on 3000 American participants. Surprisingly, the poll found that early is considered on time, with more than half the participants admitting to being strict timekeepers.
13 minutes late
According to the study, anything more than 13 minutes past the agreed time can be considered late. A whopping 60% of the participants believe in being early, while 39% said that being late is socially unacceptable. Another 56% plan ahead to make sure they are never late.
Even more surprisingly, 70% of the participants said they had one friend in their friendship group who was reputed for being late. However, less than 25% admitted to being that person. Almost half the participants have even gone as far as sneakily lying to a friend that an event was earlier than it was so that they would arrive on time. Researchers also realized that it only takes being late five times for people to be upset with the latecomer.
More than 30% of the participants were confident that they are always early to evens. Another 45% said they are mostly early, while a mere 10% admitted to being late quite often.
Half of the participants said they are always getting criticized for their timekeeping habits, whether early or late.
Covid made things slower.
However, 35% believe that the pandemic has slowed the nation in terms of timekeeping, while 55% are glad that they don’t have to be somewhere at a specific time since the lockdown. The study also revealed that the go-to excuse for lateness is traffic, with 37% of the participants admitting using it to get out of trouble.
