Schedules, deadlines, time pressures, make us handcuffed to the notion of time. Scheduling is a state of mind that affects how you organize your day, how you run a meeting, how far you must plan in advance, and how flexible those plans are. Yet what is considered appallingly late in one culture may be acceptably on time in another.
In France, it’s important to ensure that you make appointments for business and social events. It is not pleasant in France to arrive at the front door unannounced which is considered very rude, whatever the occasion.
While you should endeavor to be punctual, you will not be considered to be late, should you come ten minutes after the scheduled time.
French people treat punctuality very casually, however, still there remains a regional difference, If you go towards the south of France you go towards the more relaxed way.
The French have a very comfortable approach when attending meetings themselves, so it wouldn’t be surprising if a French colleague arrives late. However, staying late at the office is normal, particularly for individuals with senior posts.
For social events, it’s better to be punctual since you expect your arrival and has a cooked meal.
On the other hand, if you live in France or northern Italy, chances are you won’t feel the need to make the call, since being 6 or 7 minutes late is within the realm of ‘basically on time’ (If you were running 12 or 15 minutes late, however, that would be a different story).
And if you are from a flexible-time culture such as the Middle East, Africa, India, or South America, time may have an altogether different level of elasticity in your mind.
In these societies, as you fight traffic and react to the chaos that life inevitably throws your way, it is expected that delays will happen. In this context, 9:15 differs very little from 9:45, and everybody accepts that.
