What does "Sri Lankan time" mean?

"Sri Lankan time" is the local habit of treating a stated start time as approximate. An invitation says 6.00, guests arrive at 7.00, and the event begins when the chief guest arrives at 7.30. In an office it shows up as the 9.00 meeting that reliably starts at 9.25.

How early should you arrive for a business meeting?

Ten minutes early. On time does not mean walking in as the clock strikes nine. It means seated, water poured, phone away and ready before the meeting is due to begin. Arriving at 8.50 for a 9.00 meeting sends a completely different message than arriving at 9.10 flustered.

How much time do late meetings actually cost?

Flowtrace's 2025 report found that 50% of meetings start late. Research puts the average delay at 10 minutes and 40 seconds per meeting, which works out to roughly 3 days and 2 hours lost per employee each year. For senior executives the average delay is 15 minutes and 42 seconds, or about 5 days and 19 hours a year.

How punctual do international buyers expect Sri Lankan suppliers to be?

Very. In Germany the norm is to arrive about five minutes early, and being more than five minutes late reads as unprofessional. In Japan a railway company publicly apologised when a train left a station 25 seconds early. In the Gulf your counterpart may keep you waiting and still expect you to arrive exactly on time.

Why "Sri Lankan Time" Is Costing You More Than You Think

The meeting was called for 9.00. At 9.25 we were still short two people. One of them texted: “Coming, coming. Five minutes.” He walked in at 9.40, phone in hand, apologising to nobody in particular. “Traffic, ah.” Everybody nodded. Traffic. The universal pardon.

Three colleagues waiting in a Colombo boardroom with empty chairs beside them and a wall clock showing the meeting has already started — **9.25.** The people who showed up on time are the ones being punished.

I have sat in that room hundreds of times. Across more than 500 workshops in Sri Lanka, the same scene repeats itself. We even have a name for it. Sri Lankan time. The card says 6.00, so you arrive at 7.00, because the chief guest will roll in at 7.30 anyway and the hall is half empty until then.

The writer Ajita Kadirgamar put it plainly in a piece on this very habit: “Sri Lankans are notorious for their inherent inability to respect time.” Harsh. Also familiar.

What an airline taught me about time

I did not always see it clearly. It became obvious during my years working with SriLankan Airlines, alongside cabin crew, pilots and ground professionals whose entire working day ran on the clock.

On an aircraft, time is not a suggestion. A departure slot is a departure slot. Miss the briefing and the flight is late. A late flight burns fuel, misses connections and lets down a few hundred people who trusted the schedule. Watching those professionals, I learned that being early was simply part of doing the job well. Nobody praised them for it. It was the floor, not something extra.

On time means ten minutes early

Here is the reframe I teach. On time does not mean walking in as the clock strikes nine. On time means ten minutes early. Seated, water poured, phone away, ready.

A man setting his briefcase down at an empty desk in a quiet office before colleagues arrive — **8.50.** Same person, same skills. A completely different opening statement.

Picture the colleague who arrives at 9.10, sweating and flustered, papers sliding off his lap. Now picture the one who arrived at 8.50, calm and settled. Same person. Two very different messages about who they are.

Lateness is a silent statement about you and your company.

What lateness actually costs

The numbers back it up. Flowtrace's 2025 report found that 50% of meetings start late. Other research puts the average delay at 10 minutes and 40 seconds per meeting, the equivalent of 3 days and 2 hours lost per employee every year, just waiting. For senior executives the average delay is 15 minutes and 42 seconds, which works out to 5 days and 19 hours a year.

Close-up of a wristwatch on a suited arm resting on a boardroom table — Ten minutes a day, compounded across a year and a room full of people.

And a well-known time-management study found that a person who is ten minutes late each day has, by year's end, taken the equivalent of one full week of paid leave. Now multiply that by everyone sitting in your meeting room, waiting.

When your buyer is in Munich or Tokyo

The stakes rise the moment a foreign name appears on the invite. Apparel is our biggest export earner. The Joint Apparel Association Forum reports the sector crossed $5 billion for the first time in 2025, reaching $5.32 billion, and our factories serve buyers like Marks & Spencer, Victoria's Secret and Nike. Those buyers come from places where the clock means something.

Germany. The norm is to arrive about five minutes early. Turning up more than five minutes late reads as unprofessional.
Japan. A train once left Notogawa Station 25 seconds early, and the railway company issued a public apology calling the inconvenience “truly inexcusable”.
The Gulf. Your counterpart may keep you waiting, and still expect you to be exactly on time.

So when your buyer joins a call from Munich at 9.00 and you drift in at 9.25, you have made a statement about your company before you say a single word. And no, the traffic excuse does not travel. A University of Moratuwa study estimated congestion losses at Rs. 32 billion a year, rising to Rs. 40 billion by 2012, around 1.5% of GDP. The traffic is real. Which is exactly why you plan for it instead of blaming it.

Leaders set the clock

A leader standing at the head of a full boardroom table addressing his team — If the boss walks in at 9.20, then 9.20 is the new 9.00.

Leaders, this one is on you. Teams copy what you do, not what you say. If the boss strolls in at 9.20, then 9.20 becomes the new 9.00 for everyone. Punctuality is a leadership responsibility.

Five things any team can start on Monday

Start on time, every time. Begin at 9.00 sharp, even with half the chairs empty. Do not recap for latecomers. After two or three meetings, people adjust.
Plan the buffer, not the journey. If the drive is 30 minutes, budget an hour. Leave at 8.30, not 8.55.
Shorten your default. Set meetings to 25 and 50 minutes instead of 30 and 60. The gap becomes built-in buffer between calls.
Lead from the front. Managers arrive first and are visibly ready. Standard set.
Name it. Thank the people who turn up on time. Make punctuality something the team notices and respects.

A woman standing to lead a boardroom meeting while colleagues listen and take notes — Begin at 9.00 sharp, even with half the chairs empty. People adjust faster than you think.

None of this needs money. It needs consistency.

Elegance is consistency, not expense. Nowhere is that truer than with your own timekeeping.

If your team's 9.00 has quietly become 9.25, I can help you fix it. My Corporate Etiquette Training covers punctuality, first impressions, meetings and international business conduct. You may also want to read what to wear to a job interview in Colombo.

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Why “Sri Lankan Time” Is Costing You More Than You Think