The “African Time” Syndrome: Understanding Lateness among Nigerian Public Service Workers

Abstract Lateness to meeting or what has been commonly referred to as “African time” is increasingly becoming part of social life in most African countries. Although this phenomenon has crept into the work environment of most Nigerian public service organizations, it has attracted limited research attention. In the study, we explored the definition of lateness to meetings and appointments, and rating of frequency of lateness to meetings among 577 public service employees in southeast Nigeria. We also examined the mediating role of compassion for others in the relationship between work environment and lateness to meetings. The results of our study showed that the participants generally have flexible definition of lateness and this is influenced by the purpose of the meeting/appointment and the persons involved in the meeting/appointment. Work environment was negatively related to lateness to meetings and this relationship was mediated by compassion for others. We discussed the implications of our findings to public service delivery. Future research should address the real costs of lateness and its other antecedents in both private and public organizations, especially in countries where there is general poor attitude to time keeping.