There is an art and science to being late to things. As somebody who is chronically early to nearly everything I do, even I know that to be true. When I did theatre as a child, we were taught that to be early is to be on time, to be on time is to be late, and if you’re late, don’t bother showing up. Those words gave me highly unrealistic expectations for other people’s punctuality. Since then, I’ve learned there is a big difference between being a couple of minutes late and being unacceptably late. Being a couple of minutes late to most events is standard for most people. Lateness is especially understandable when someone shows up late to a place they’ve never been where they are unfamiliar with the layout. Unfortunately, not everyone is empathetic enough to give people the benefit of the doubt when they’re slightly late. One Redditor shared his story of being sent home from his job after showing up to his first day a couple of minutes late, and it’s clear that he is entering into a toxic workplace.