Brits obsessed with punctuality

A new study by WatchShop.com reveals that Brits are obsessed with being punctual. Sixty two percent of Brits agree that being late is inexcusable with 83% stating that our obsession with punctuality is something that is uniquely British.

The new study of over 2000 Brits, commissioned by independent watch retailer WatchShop.com found that 69% of us claim never to be late, for anything, whilst less than one in ten of us admit to being late more than twice a week.

For 44% of Brits, being more than five minutes late is unacceptable and anything greater than 300 seconds late, leaves 67% of feeling downright stressed.

However when it comes to being early, 34% agree that we should arrive at least 25 minutes early with a further fourteen percent claiming that you can never be too early for an appointment.

According to the Watchshop.com study, it appears that the “white rabbit” condition affects women more than men. Seventy four per cent of women compared to 54% of men feel stressed about not being on time, and whilst almost half of women surveyed reveal that being more than five minutes late is unacceptable, fewer, 40%, of men feel the same way.

Perhaps this is because men believe that they are never late. The study reveals that 71% of men believe they are never late, compared with 68% of women.

However when asked which sex is more punctual, men and women disagree of course. 46% of women say they are more punctual than men. Yet men are less certain, 37% of men say that their sex is better at timekeeping.

And what can you be late for? According to the Watchshop.com study, more women than men think it’s acceptable to be late for a date (10% women, 6% men) and more men than women think it’s acceptable to be late for family gathering (22% men, 19% women).

“It seems that men and women have some very different perceptions of time,” says Kishore Naib, Chief Timekeeper at Watchshop.com. “But what is very clear from our study is that whether male or female being punctual is perceived as being of absolute importance in the way we, as a nation, behave.”

He continues: “You could say that Lewis Carroll touched on the very heart of the British nature with his worrying, time obsessing White Rabbit character.”

“We may have set ideas of how long men spend on the loo or women spend getting ready but these stereotypes are born out by our research which did show a consistent difference in the time men and women spend on their daily routines,” concludes Watchshop.com’s Naib.