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Or more precisely, smoking in work time.
Following a day of planting out a garden with 4 of us on site, 2 smokers and 2 non, us non smokers decided to have 5 minutes leaning on a spade time while the others rolled and puffed.
A quick bit of mental arithmetic came up with this:-
1 minute to roll and 5 to smoke. At 5 fags a day, adjusting for 4 weeks holiday a year and a tweak with some rounding for bank holidays, I make that 14 working days or nearly 3 weeks of productivity up in smoke.
Please refute my dodgy maths as that's an horrific amount of lost time
I'll work it out and post it whilst I'm at work tomorrow...
As a non-smoker, take not-smoking breaks. Balance is restored in the Force.
I'd get bored cougar.
Ahhh but the smokers are getting a good nicotine hit which will then double their productivity for the next six minutes thus cancelling the initial six minutes out.
Case closed.
how many times a day do you waste thinking about this and spying on folks?
You sound like the fun person at work who calculated I'd spend £600 a year or whatever it was on slice rolls a year by buying a couple 3 or 4 times a week.
Like George Best kinda said, the rest of money is wasted if it isn't spent on slice rolls.
I’d rather work with a smoker than someone who whines about smoking breaks.
You can readily spot the smokers.
I’d rather work with a smoker than someone who whines about smoking breaks.
Is it fair that smokers take more breaks than non-smokers?
Like I said, non-smoking breaks, it's the future. Everyone's a winner.
1 minute to roll and 5 to smoke
Are they still on their L plates?
I don’t smoke.
Cougar - Moderator
Is it fair that smokers take more breaks than non-smokers?.
care to share these detailed productivity reports you have on everyone?
I've come to the conclusion that smokers may take an extra 30 mins a day off work, but are less likely to take long sickies due to work-related stress. If someone takes 3 months off due to stress that's equivalent to about 3 years worth of fag breaks (I was going to justify the maths, but can't be arsed). 30 mins a day lost productivity is easier to manage for a company than long term absence, especially when it's difficult to determine how long it will be.
I don't smoke btw, just an observation over the years.
Most of us on my army recruits course started smoking as it was the few times for a few minutes a day that you didn't get beasted/screamed at or cracked. Fun times, I've stopped now though smelly workshy naughty word 😉
Eh? A smoker is less likely to suffer stress than a non smoker?
Is this a fact I've missed somewhere?
Cos they is soo.. Like chilled man.. Obvs
Get a grip.
If you care so much about your employers productivity why not work the weekends for free?
25 minutes of breaks in a working day seems pretty reasonable to me.
Eh? A smoker is less likely to suffer stress than a non smoker?
No, but it is their way of dealing with the stress, so they don't end up having a "meltdown"
Cos they is soo.. Like chilled man..
Depends what's being smoked,
Obvs
I don’t smoke.
I wasn't referring to you.
care to share these detailed productivity reports you have on everyone?
I don't know of many non-smokers that go and stand outside for five minutes every hour for no reason. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
They do go for toilet breaks and coffee breaks, but then so do the smokers in addition to their smoking breaks.
I've nothing against smokers incidentally, I just believe that breaks should be equal across the board. If a smoker can go for a smoke, then a non-smoker should be allowed to goof off for a few minutes also.
I've come to the conclusion that smokers may take an extra 30 mins a day off work, but are less likely to take long sickies due to work-related stress.
If the non-smokers got an extra two and a half hours off work each week, maybe they'd be less stressed too? Maybe they could leave work half an hour earlier every day than the smokers?
Cougar, do you actually work in a place that prevents you from taking breaks?
10-20 seconds to roll.
Source = ex-smoker.
Cougar, do you actually work in a place that prevents you from taking breaks?
Personally no, I come and go as I please. But I have in the past, and other departments are clock-watched much more closely than I am.
10-20 seconds to roll.
Worst Robocop remake ever.
in my workplace smokers only smoke in their breaks unless we have a spare five minutes ( very rare) and then everyone gets to stop for those five minutes.
take not-smoking breaks.
This.
When I worked in a restaurant kitchen any time orders slowed down sufficiently one of the smokers would immediately disappear,if it stayed quiet the others would follow one by one leaving just the non smokers to run the kitchen until we got overwhelmed and had to send someone outside to get them back in.
I just took to going outside for 5 minutes 'not to have a fag'.
Personally no, I come and go as I please. But I have in the past, and other departments are clock-watched much more closely than I am.
And in the latter examples, is it allowed for people to go for a smoke but not for a different type of break?
productivity doesn't equate to clock watching.Cougar - ModeratorI don't know of many non-smokers that go and stand outside for five minutes every hour for no reason. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Some very defensive smokers here....
Where?
Just because they are smoking doesn't mean they aren't working. Sometimes people stop and think about how they are going to tackle something. I've seen as much problem solving getting done during a smoke break as anywhere else, often even more so. Even better when the cliping teacher pet types aren't around to slow things down.
Some people seem very defensive about thier revolting addiction.
I must have forgotten how how much more work i did and how much less stressed i was back when I was a smoker.
Yep time spent is generally the worst measure of performance for stuff that involves thinking etc. However if your just doing (hospitality or labouring) if your not there you ain't doing anything. It's crap for morale and a team ethic if somebody always seems to be out the back.
they wont live as long as nonsmokers, so deserve to work a little less... 😆
https://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/smoking/Pages/stopping-smoking-benefits-mental-health.aspx
".... two of every five cigarettes smoked in England are smoked by people with a mental health problem."
they wont live as long as nonsmokers, so deserve to work a little less...
True fact.
Add in they stink, and go that funny shade of yellow fingers, and it's a price they chose to pay.
I'm pretty sure this has already been covered on STW:
[url= http://uk.businessinsider.com/non-smokers-at-japanese-company-get-6-extra-vacation-days-2017-11 ]Extra holidays for non-smokers[/url]
There was a company recently that awarded 6 extra vacation days to non-smokers. Japanese company maybe? Was in the news.
I don't take smoke breaks, but I do take coffee breaks. Sometimes I talk about work issues during them. Sometimes we problem solve during lunch too. So is it still a break? Sometimes I talk about non work stuff whilst not on a break too!
I don't care what smokers do - I think it's pretty funny that they're so desperate for a puff that they'll go and stand out in the freezing cold on the windy hill to get their fix - but then again I work in IT, so none of us are productive anyway. I think the OP's industry is slightly different, so I can't judge.
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I packed in smoking 3 years ago. Reading stuff like this makes me want to start again
But what about those pesky muslims that take prayer breaks at work ?
It’s the Muslim smokers who take their morning shit on company time and always on social media when they should be working that get my goat.
As soon as I spy anyone in the office nipping out for a fag, I immediately stop working and post something on STW.
It's only fair, innit?
Boring to load a link, but it'll give you the answers you are looking for in regard to "smoking breaks" and the Law...
What happens between you and your Employer is between you and your Employer but the Law is unequivocal in its reasoned answer to this Age Old Question...
[url= http://www.walesonline.co.uk/business/business-news/how-many-smoke-breaks-you-12057827 ]WalesOnline, Smoking/Employment and the Law[/url]
Take up smoking if it bothers you so much.
[i]Take up smoking if it bothers you so much.[/i]
Or vaping - the breaks, without the health risks (or the stink of ashtrays).
Plus looks reeeally cool.
On top of the 2 weeks or so lost in time to breaks, large scale health studies have shown they take an average of 8 more days off in sick leave per year, and this is -after- factoring in socioeconomic factors (tend towards the lower end, so poorer diet, harsher jobs etc)
paton - Member
> https://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/smoking/Pages/stopping-smoking-benefits-mental-health.aspx".... two of every five cigarettes smoked in England are smoked by people with a mental health problem."
So, let me get this right - the NHS in England have studied a group of people who'll pay £10 a day to make themselves stink, look old and haggard and eventually die sooner with a huge amount of associated illness they may get in the meantime... and they're only saying 20% of them are mentally ill?
40% dear 😉
So smokers don’t take time off sick with stress. Do they take any other sick leave, for any other health problems, or is it win win? Wonder how many companies have to make death in service payments to smokers?
Or vaping - the breaks, without the health risks (or the stink of ashtrays).
Plus looks reeeally cool.
Yes I can't believe how cool vapers look. Oh and those gorgeous varied odours. Mmmmmmmm.
We had one eejit at our old place that certainly wasn't productive during ciggy breaks (or even after them!) but kinda let it lie.
There was nearly a riot in the team when someone actually took note of the excursions. Think the record was 14 breaks of avg 15 minutes one day. Words were finally said after that.
".... two of every five cigarettes smoked in England are smoked by people with a mental health problem."
An even better reason to ban it if it's a major cause of mental illness. 😀
Or are we talking about a small number of people smoking 4000 fags a day?
cant believe that I read this instead of going out for a smoke.
Smoking's been entirely banned on our sites. I'm looking forward to the smoking shelters going with their vaping smells. Every time i walk in to the office it's like walking through the air freshener aisle at Halfords.
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@slowoldman, surely you appreciate the fun in walking past a properly hard, rough, posssibly flat roofed pub, and being greeted by scary faces and a smell of (synthetic) strawberries and cream?
Makes me chuckle anyway
As a former smoker (nearly one year off the fags now, thank you very much) I can confidently confirm that I don't get any extra work done. None at all.