Unless you leave ridiculously early every morning, you'll eventually be late for work. Traffic happens, as do wardrobe malfunctions and flat tires. Even the most controlling boss will understand an occasional delay. When tardiness becomes a regular occurrence, however, you'll likely find yourself on the other end of a serious talk. When you've done everything you can and you're still running late, there are a few things you can do to minimize the damage.
如果你不是天刚亮就出门,你总会上班迟到的。交通堵塞,这与着装事故或轮胎漏气是一样平常的事情。即使是控制欲最强的老板也会理解你偶尔一两次的迟到。然而,当你的迟到已经变成家常便饭了,也许你就面临一次严肃的交谈了。当你已经竭尽所能,却仍然免不了迟到,那么你可以做一些事情降低迟到的损害。

1. Call as Soon as Possible
1. 尽快打电话

If you think you'll be at your desk by a few minutes after your designated start time, you may be fine unless you're needed to answer phones or relieve someone else. As soon as it becomes apparent that you'll arrive more than a few minutes late, however, you should put in a call to your boss to warn him or her about the delay.
如果你感觉自己就要比预定时间晚到几分钟,那还是问题不大的,但如果你有必要等待客户的电话或为别人替班,情况就不一样了。当你发现自己真的要晚到几分钟了,那就尽快打电话通知老板,告诉他/她你将会晚到。

Once you've put that call in, try not to stress out. There's only so much you can do to get from Point A to Point B, especially if traffic is your obstacle. Stop obsessively staring at the clock and try to do something that relaxes you. If you allow your late arrival to spoil your mood for the day, you'll be less productive when you do finally get to your desk.
当你决定了打电话,也不要太紧张。从此地到彼地,你能做的就只能是这样了,特别当你遇到交通堵塞的时候。不要频繁地盯着手表看,做点别的让自己轻松的事情。如果你被迟到影响了当天的情绪,上班的时候你的工作效率就会大大减低。

2.Make Sure Your Work Is Covered
2. 确保工作已有人照料

Making a phone call to your boss is only the beginning. If your job relies on you being at your desk at a designated time, contact one of your coworkers to cover for you. If you have an important report or project due, see if someone else can help you out. Your boss will be impressed that you were able to keep things moving even when you were delayed.
致电老板仅仅是个开始。如果你的工作任务需要你在特定的时间到岗,那就联系一位同事为你先照料着。如果你有一项重要的报告或项目需要提交,那就看看有没有人能够帮助你。若你能在迟到的前提下仍然保持事情井然有序地运行,你的老板会对你另眼相看的。

When you're finally at your desk, put in extra time to make up for your tardiness. This may mean working through lunch or staying an hour late. Make sure your work gets done in spite of your lateness and your boss is likely to be more forgiving.
当你终于回到了公司,那就额外找时间弥补你的迟到时间。可能需要你工作至午餐时间,或下班后多留下来一个小时。要保证自己即使迟到了,也能完成任务,这样老板就能体谅你了。

3. Follow Through on Promises
3. 信守承诺

If your late arrival goes beyond a few minutes, head straight to your boss's office and apologize in person for being late. Try to avoid giving excuses and instead focus on what you plan to do to keep this from happening in the future. If it means leaving a half an hour early every day to beat your town's unpredictable traffic, let the boss know you fully plan to do that.
如果你迟到远远不止几分钟,那就直接亲自找老板道歉吧。不要找借口,而应该保证如何避免将来发生同样的事情。如果你需要每天提前半小时出门来避免突如其来的交通堵塞,你就要让老板知道你的决心。

After you've made those promises, take extra effort to keep them. Make sure your one-time late arrival is just that. Be consistently on time, day after day, week after week, and an occasional traffic snafu will likely be overlooked.
向老板许下了承诺,就多花点心思去保持。确保你这一次的迟到仅仅就这一次。让守时成为习惯,天复一天,周复一周,那么偶尔的一次交通堵塞基本可以忽略不计了。

4. Get to Work
4. 尽快投入到工作中

It can be tempting to rush into work, sharing your harrowing morning with your coworkers. All this may do however is disrupt the workplace and call attention to the fact that you were late. Instead, breeze through the door and wish your coworkers a good morning. Then jump right into work.
也许你仓促地赶到公司,然后跟同事抱怨你的不幸早晨,是一件再正常不过的事情了。但是这样做就会扰乱公司秩序,还让别人知道你迟到了。所以你倒不如轻轻地走进办公室,祝愿同事有一个美好的早晨,然后投入到工作当中吧。

That said, don't assume that your coworkers don't notice your late arrival, especially if it happens on a regular basis. Even if your boss seems unfazed by your lack of reliability, those around you may start to feel resentful. Your boss may even have given you permission to work late to make up for it on the occasions you're late, but your coworkers may not know that. In time, they may start to treat you differently and even complain to your boss about your behavior.
这样做,就别以为同事没有发现你的迟到了,尤其是你常常迟到的情况下。即使老板看上去很平静,你身边的同事也会感到厌恶。也许老板已经允许你晚点下班完成任务了,但你的同事却不知道真实情况。所以,他们可能会排斥你,甚至向老板投诉。

Nobody plans to be late for work, but it happens to the best of us. If you make it an exception instead of a rule, your boss will likely understand and be more lenient when it does happen. The best you can often do is let your boss know ahead of time that you'll be late and do your best to make sure your work is covered.
虽然没有人是有计划迟到的,但是都会发生在我们的身上。如果你的迟到只是偶尔的一次例外,而不是常规,你的老板会理解的,对你的迟到会更宽容。你能做好的就是提前告诉你的老板,然后尽自己最大的能力确保工作已经被照料妥当了。

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