Why employees in Ontario keep turning up late to work

Getting to work on time is easier said than done sometimes. One minute you’re ahead of schedule, the next you’re delayed and left stumbling in fashionably late.

So, if you’re wondering what’s really keeping Ontario employees from clocking in on time, read on for a full breakdown of the data, ranging from subway delays and car problems… to Tim Hortons.

We pulled the numbers from our clocking in and lateness tool, Blip, taking data from January 2023 to July 2025, and the results are a mix of the usual suspects—and a few surprises.

The top 5 lateness reasons

Public transport

If you rely on streetcars, buses, trains, or subways to get to work, you’ll know punctuality isn’t always included in the Presto price. Public transport woes topped the charts as the leading cause of lateness, responsible for 22% of delays, with the average worker showing up 32 minutes behind schedule.

TTC

And in Toronto, the TTC deserves its own mention. From Line 1 and 2 shutdowns to stalled streetcars and buses that seemed to vanish into thin air, 17% of transport-related records called out the TTC by name. And that’s only when it was mentioned specifically.

Oversleeping

Next up: oversleeping. Proof that even the best-laid alarms can betray us, whether thanks to dead phones, wrong settings, or the snooze button. Sleeping in accounted for 20% of lateness—nearly tying with public transport, but the delays were twice as long, averaging just over an hour.

Traffic

Then there’s traffic, the ever-present villain of the morning commute. While Toronto is notorious for gridlock, it wasn’t the only city to fall prey to the motorway monster—traffic caused 16% of lateness across Ontario, typically setting people back about 30 minutes. Construction and highway accidents were the usual culprits.

Wellness

Wellness issues may not have been the most frequent reason, but they caused the longest delays. Averaging 96 minutes late, employees cited everything from migraines and stomach issues to general aches and pains. When your body hits pause, the morning routine usually does too.

Family emergencies

Finally, family life added its own curveballs. Accounting for 10% of lateness, family emergencies delayed workers by an average of 86 minutes. Think children missing buses, sudden doctor’s appointments, or last-minute childcare scrambles—the kind of morning chaos that no amount of planning can prevent.

Should Torontonians just drive to work?

If you’re a resident of Toronto, you’re likely familiar with the phrase “TTC = Take The Car”, but does it hold any weight?

Our data suggests that commuters will be delayed just as long by traffic as they will be by the TTC, but with 1.7 million daily commuters on the TTC network—maybe it’s more reliable than the drive.

Unusual reasons for lateness

Honesty is always the best policy when it comes to issues at work. It fosters a healthy environment and allows managers to provide their staff with the support they need. However, at what point is honesty a little too honest?

• Tim Hortons queues were cited in 8 lateness records

• 2 lateness reasons included hangovers and partying

• One unlucky employee’s dog decided to steal their work shoes

• And one employee got carried away at the gym

Final thoughts

To wrap it up, there are varying reasons why employees punch in later than they should, but trouble with their commute seems to always take the cake. The commute is the most common cause of lateness, with a combined 38% of lateness across public transport and traffic—with an approximate 30 minute average delay.

Wellness is also a known, but serious delay for employees in Ontario. Wellness and oversleeping go hand in hand, and account for a combined 30% of lateness – with each exceeding over an hour of delays on average.

Methodology

Data: BrightHR Blip data from January 2023 to date, all recorded lateness reasons in Ontario.

Using the data from our Blip app, we categorized all qualifying reasons* and calculated the average time per category.

*Data was omitted if there were no reasons provided.