These days people try to find a pathology behind every behaviour, which is to say, to treat a particular habit as an illness when it seems impossible to correct. A 57-year-old Scot named Jim Dunbar has become the first person in the world to be officially diagnosed with “chronic lateness”, as reported by El Confidencial. It is a condition that is not recognised by the manual of psychiatric disorders used to diagnose mental illness, but it could be the cause or the consequence of other kinds of disorders.
We all know someone who is late everywhere, whatever the day or time, both at company meetings and in their personal life. Until now this could be seen as a lack of respect for others, but once it falls under a pathology, the latecomer would come to be seen as ill, suffering, according to the group of Scottish psychologists who diagnosed “chronic lateness”, from one of these other disorders:
- Narcissism: narcissists always expect to be the centre of attention, so arriving late and feeling that nothing starts until they get there is, let’s say, one more way of being the centre of the universe.
- ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). This disorder is more serious and sometimes ends up affecting even relationships with family and friends. People with ADHD tend to be late more often than others, but they don’t do it out of a lack of respect.
- Unconscious impulses. Some people tend to be late simply because they can’t be on time owing to factors beyond their control, and we are not talking about making excuses. Above all, because of work.
But let’s take a closer look at lateness.
If we focus on psychology, we would find many psychologists who link this behaviour to psychological disorders, phobias and even obsessive-compulsive behaviour. Some even talk about psychopathy.
For some latecomers, being late may simply be another trait of their personality, and even something quite reasonable, to the point of saying: “I’m late because I can’t stand being the one who waits, so I’d rather be 10 minutes late in the hope that the other person is already there.”
(Read: Signs that you might be a psychopath)
One thing is clear: lateness can end a friendship or a relationship, and it can even get you fired.
The Mexican psychologist Mariano Lechuga went as far as identifying six lateness personalities among people who were always late everywhere: the justifier, the productive one, the procrastinator, the evasive one, the rebel and the one who accepts it.
1. The rebel
Like any act of rebellion, this person is late simply to avoid following the established rules, and doesn’t even care if others get annoyed. In fact, there is a good chance they are late on purpose.
2. The productive one
This person is late out of necessity, because there is always something else to do. This is the person, often very good at their job, whose help everyone wants, so they really are so busy that they squeeze every last minute out of their time. If they have arranged to meet their partner at 10 at night and are about to walk out of the door, another colleague asks for help finishing something, and in the end they are late.
3. The justifier
This person is extremely creative with excuses for being late anywhere. Latecomers of this type are probably the ones who wrote the handbook of the best excuses for being late to work.
4. The procrastinator
This person always leaves everything until the last minute. They are rarely organised and seldom plan their tasks. They are addicted to stress and get bored easily, so unconsciously they can only see themselves as useful workers if they are always rushing everywhere under stress. And, of course, they are the one who waits until the last minute to tell you they will be late.
5. The self-confessed latecomer
They admit they have this flaw and even admit it bothers other people, but they insist they can’t change it however hard they have tried, and in the end they have concluded: “this is who I am; take me or leave me, flaws and virtues included“. And the truth is that this kind of undisciplined person also tends to be among the greatest geniuses in their field, so companies even accept this flaw, judging that it is not that serious.
6. The evasive one
They simply think being late isn’t such a big deal, and that there are worse things.
Bad manners, illness, a disorder, an incorrigible habit…? Which latecomer is your favourite?
Featured image: © 2009 by Tomasz Sienicki, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
