Frosty Mornings

Frosty mornings are magical; the sunlight shines through our windows with extra strength because it is reflected off the frost. Even the drabbest of gardens looks like a magical foreign land, and the cobwebs we would normally despise look like Christmas decorations.

However for those of us who have to come into work, frosty mornings mean, an extra ten minutes to defrost the car, and driving extra slowly because of ice.

For shift workers the problems are exaggerated; frosty mornings affect not only the Early shift but also the night shift getting home. And while office workers can stroll in at 09:00 the 06:00 shift has to travel in the dark as well as ice. This means that when a sudden frost occurs shifts will evidently be late.

Tardiness can cost an organisation hundreds of pounds per day. Work doesn’t get done on time so delays have a knock on effect. Tardiness can also be dangerous, if key posts are not filled, e.g. health and safety officer, than people can be at risk.

So how can you reduce tardiness?

Firstly you need to plan for it. This week has been the first real frost of the year, so when a frost is expected tell people. Send out emails alerting people to the issue. Have the night shift text the morning shift if it starts to get frosty. Give people advice like set your alarms for half an hour earlier and use old duvets to cover your car windscreen.

Then for key skills or essential operations you need to have procedures in place. These could include handover periods so there is a 15 or 30 minute overlap of shifts. Hence is someone is late their post is not left unmanned. Or have a rule that your shift is not over until you are relieved at your post. Then if someone is late, the person doing their job on the previous shift has to wait behind until they arrive. You can then have a tit for tat system so that on the next shift they have to come in early so that the person on the shift previous can go home early to make up for staying late.

Any adversity can be overcome if you can foresee it and plan for it. So check the weather reports, find alternative routes to work when your primary route is blocked and just get up that little bit earlier so that you can drive safe.