Punctuality in different societies

Being on time is very important no matter where you live. But if you live in Japan, punctuality is a MUST. We had a group training in Japanese elementary school. We were only 11 or so but Japanese school wanted to teach us the importance of being on time..actually they were not happy with us being exactly on time. We were told to come at least five minutes early to the appointment.

I still remember the “Umi no gakushu” (bootcamp in the countryside of Japan..umi=ocean) that all kids had to go through. We were in fifth grade and looking back, I am not sure if it was really necessary for us to go through such intensive training..”trainer” or bootcamp officer was yelling at us…the kids constantly and of course, we were assigned to small groups and were told that this was a team effort and if any member of the group does not show up at least five minutes before the appointment, there were some kinds of consequences..

Anyways, I just wanted to explain how important it is to be punctual, be considerate of other people in Japan. My Japanese friend was asking if it was the same way in the U.S..well, it really depends on the person but punctuality “seems” to be very important in American society. “Time is money” here and Southern California seems to be relatively fast-paced and tardiness isn’t generally tolerated. I have a very understanding boss that allows “flexibility” so probably wouldn’t have survived in Japanese company. But I am very productive and get the work done anyways so that’s one of the reasons.But it isn’t generally tolerated.

So to answer your question, punctuality is very important in both countries. But I notice that two of my friends from Mexican heritage are always late. Very flaky and one girl is almost always late at least 20 minutes. If we were supposed to meet up for lunch at noon, she wouldn’t show up until 12:20pm and I used to think it was because of her intense work schedule but even after she moved to another division, she continued to be late for our lunch. My other American friends would definitely text if they can’t meet me on time..especially after five-seven minutes, it is late. So they would text or call me.

I am not sure if this is a coincident but I had two Mexican students many years ago and they were almost always at least 30 minutes late. Then they weren’t very apologetic about it. My other American students would offer to pay me for my time, or to reschedule..or end 30 minutes early.

I guess these are cultural things and we get used to a different concept of time. I grew up in a very uptight society that doesn’t tolerate being late even for two minutes..and I now live in a society that emphasizes the importance of being on time…yet I interact with people from different cultural backgrounds and they have different attitudes toward time.

I definitely want to be punctual especially if it is involving someone else because I want to be respectful of others time..let’s put it this way. 🙂