Running Late to Work: What Should You Do?
Six workplace problem-solving questions about running late for a shift, each with three options and one best plan.
You missed your bus and will be 20 minutes late for your shift. What should you do first?
Session summary (SOAP)
Stays on this screen. Nothing is saved or sent.
Mark a card Correct, Correct with cue or Incorrect and the summary writes itself here.
How to run it
Read each scenario aloud and let the student choose. Then ask what would happen next with each option, so the reasoning is about consequences rather than rules. Finish by having the student write the actual text they would send their manager, with their name and an arrival time.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentPresent the item and wait 5 seconds of quiet before helping.Log as correct
- PromptAsk 'What's your first step?' or 'What would you say here?'Log as cued
- Two choicesOffer two responses and talk through which one fits the situation better.Log as cued
- ModelRole-play it yourself first, then the student tries it.Log as cued
Adjust it
Give the student a written script to read from during the role-play.
Drop the script, and play a less helpful partner who asks a follow-up question.
Matching IEP goal
Given a real-life scenario, Student will give a clear, appropriate response in 4 of 5 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than one prompt.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Six questions about one of the most common first-job problems: running late. Missing the bus and being 20 minutes late for a shift leads to who to tell, what the message should include, what to say on arrival, and how to stop it happening again. Each question has three options and one plan that solves the problem best. It is written for high school students starting work or work-based learning, where the expectations around lateness are often unspoken.
What to listen for
Notice whether the student sees contacting the manager before the shift as the key step, or thinks explaining afterwards is the same thing. Listen to their own message: is it short and specific, with a time, or long and apologetic without the details a manager needs?
Carrying it home
If your teen has a job or regular commitment, save their manager's contact in their phone together and draft a running-late text they can send in seconds. Talk through what time they need to leave to arrive early, and what they would do if the bus did not come.
What's in this activity
- You missed your bus and will be 20 minutes late for your shift. What should you do first?
- Call or text your manager before your shift starts.
- Wait and explain when you get there.
- Skip the shift since you are late anyway.
- Who should you tell that you are running late?
- A friend who works somewhere else
- Your manager or the person in charge of the schedule
- No one
- What should your message to your manager include?
- A long story about your morning
- Only the word sorry
- Your name and when you expect to arrive
- You get to work late. What is a good thing to say?
- Sorry I'm late. I'm ready to start now.
- It's not my fault the bus was late.
- Nothing. Just hope no one noticed.
- You have been late twice this month because the bus is often slow. What could help?
- Keep taking the same bus
- Take an earlier bus
- Stop telling your manager
- Your manager says being late again could affect your hours. What is a good reply?
- Everyone is late sometimes.
- Walk away without answering.
- I understand. I'm taking an earlier bus from now on.
Questions
- Who is this for?
- Students in grades 9 through 12 working on vocational and transition goals, including workplace problem solving.
- Why does it say text or call?
- Workplaces differ. Part of the skill is finding out which one your manager prefers and keeping that contact handy.
- Is it free?
- Yes. It plays free in the browser with no login. An account adds session data, goal scoring and assignment to a student.
Use this board with your caseload
With a free account, every correct, cued and incorrect mark is saved to the student and scored against their IEP goal, with the data written up for you. Assign it as home practice through the parent portal.
Track progress freeFree for SLPs. No card, no trial clock.