[Closed] Smoking break vs Time in lieu

I read last year a company in Japan gives its non smokers extra holiday.

Yup. That’s what this firm has done.

Four days holiday though, assuming that smokers take three x 10minute ciggy breaks per day.

It’s been a source of some considerable irritation to me, when I’d be getting nagged for taking a couple of minutes too long over my mid-morning or afternoon break, and I’d see other staff, including supervisors, bunking off for ten minutes every hour or so for a fag, standing around in a little group outside.
If they can take maybe an hour every day for fag breaks, on top of their other tea/coffee and lunch breaks, why can’t I?

people should not be sneaking off for fags. Official breaks only. In quiet times ( occasional!) at my work if the smokers go out the non smokers stop for a cuppa.

i started standing outside with a tin of beer. It was deemed confrontational. I then started drinking alcohol free beer next to the vapers in the office. Again viewed as 'not helpful".

It used to drive me crazy, then the colleague that was doing it too often got his wrists slapped, and instead we all had to deal with his withdrawal symptoms.

We counted one of the worst offenders one day - 14 ciggy breaks of about 15 mins each in one day! (didn't last long after that once the managers realised).

I like the option that its rewarding non-smoking, rather than the other way around.

I don't understand this. I've never worked anywhere where you can go for a smoke break. If it's a day shift, you get a morning break, a lunch break and an afternoon break. You either smoke during these breaks or not. Simple really.

Wait until they give time in lieu for not visiting here.

I don’t understand this. I’ve never worked anywhere where you can go for a smoke break. If it’s a day shift, you get a morning break, a lunch break and an afternoon break.

Many jobs don't provide specified morning, lunch and afternoon breaks, so people tend to take lunch and just make a cuppa whenever. Smokers also tend to pop out whenever, sometimes for bloody ages at my place.

I'm possibly the only person who takes a full hour every day for lunch though.

As an ex-smoker, I can tell you my efficiency would plummet rapidly after an hour without smoking.

In fact, health and safety tells us office workers we should take 5 minutes every hour to rest our eyes - seems a perfect opportunity...

There is also the assumption that you stop working the moment you leave your desk (and that everyone else is working while sat at theirs...) Depends on your line of work of course, but more often than not I'd be stood outside working through something in my head, and walk back through the door with a solution to whatever I was working on.

All in all, I don't really get why it irritates people so much.

Just don’t think everyone is quite as diligent as you though Butcher.

Every time I read one of these regular threads I want to start smoking again.

I do still vape, but I think I may start doing 20 Bensons a day again, nipping out for one every hour

we should take 5 minutes every hour to rest our eyes

Break from the screen, not a break from working!

Must admit, one company I worked at we found out more what was going on elsewhere in the company from our department’s smoker and his contacts on cig breaks!

As a woman who has chosen not to have children, I am of the belief that after working for a company for a couple of years I should be given extra holidays to offset the fact I won't have maternity leave..... ever! Unlike a woman who I worked with before who had three children while working for the company.

Surely smokers deserve their breaks?

They pay a lot more tax and generally die a lot younger, saving the taxpayer any costs at Sleepy Meadows home for the terminally bewildered

You should stop persecuting them and show a bit of gratitude

In fact, health and safety tells us office workers we should take 5 minutes every hour to rest our eyes – seems a perfect opportunity…

No, it doesn’t.

No, it doesn’t.

"short, frequent breaks are more satisfactory than occasional, longer breaks: e.g., a 5-10 minute break after 50-60 minutes continuous screen and/or keyboard work is likely to be better than a 15 minute break every 2 hours;"

https://www.hse.gov.uk/contact/faqs/vdubreaks.htm

Screen break not a break from work.

'Every employer shall so plan the activities of users at work in his undertaking that their daily work on display screen equipment is periodically interrupted by such breaks or changes of activity as reduce their workload at that equipment.'

informal breaks, that is time spent not viewing the screen (e.g. on other tasks), appear from study evidence to be more effective in relieving visual fatigue than formal rest breaks

people should not be sneaking off for fags. Official breaks only. In quiet times ( occasional!)

That's the kind of attitude that my work place cannot tolerate.

In fact, health and safety tells us office workers we should take 5 minutes every hour to rest our eyes – seems a perfect opportunity…

It does, so long as you afford non-smokers regular "not-smoking breaks" also. Totally with you on the 'thinking time,' I've done some of my best work whilst driving to / from work or having a poo. It's when smokers get extra breaks over non-smokers to feed their habit that it becomes problematic.

In an old workplace, me and the lady I sat next to went for a 5 min walk round the office every hour. Helped stretch legs and gave us a chance to talk over work away from the computers.
Boss was cool with it

Not a smoker but I don't think I like this.

I mean, I would take the extra holiday but I suppose they'd make me stop whining and crapping on for, oh, ten minutes three times a day or so about how positively awful smoking is

Next, feeling all superior'll become a taxable benefit and then I'll be ****ed

“short, frequent breaks are more satisfactory than occasional, longer breaks: e.g., a 5-10 minute break after 50-60 minutes continuous screen and/or keyboard work is likely to be better than a 15 minute break every 2 hours;”

https://www.hse.gov.uk/contact/faqs/vdubreaks.htm/blockquote >

Guidance for VDU breaks. VDU = Visual display unit = computer screen.

'Every employer shall so plan the activities of users at work in his undertaking that their daily work on display screen equipment is periodically interrupted by such breaks or changes of activity as reduce their workload at that equipment.'

The guidance states:
In most tasks, natural breaks or pauses occur as a consequence of the inherent organisation of the work. Whenever possible, jobs at display screens should be designed to consist of a mix of screen-based and non screen-based work to prevent fatigue and to vary visual and mental demands. Where the job unavoidably contains spells of intensive display screen work (whether using the keyboard or input device, reading the screen, or a mixture of the two), these should be broken up by periods of non-intensive, non-display screen work. Where work cannot be so organised, e.g. in jobs requiring only data or text entry requiring sustained attention and concentration, deliberate breaks or pauses must be introduced.

Basically if you're in a normal office job, the nature of the work will involve going to the printer, going to see Dave in engineering, going a meeting etc etc. i.e. being away from your desk for some activities. However, if you work in a job like a call centre or IT servicedesk where you're required to be at your desk for long periods of time with no choice to get away from your desk, you should have pre-arranged breaks, normally a 15 min morning and 15 min afternoon break.

I applaude the extra holiday given, yeah there will be some people who 'work' during fag and vape breaks - be that networking, talking about work/projects etc but lets face it, the majority of smoke breaks are probably spent slagging off sarah in accounting. 😀

 

All depends where you work and how you work. I am lucky that I don't have to account for every minute of my time and can go for a break whenever I want, have an extended lunch, have no lunch, leave early, leave late etc,.
Others in the same company, say on the helpdesk, have strict breaks as described above.

The smoking part is irrelevant as long as everybody doing the same job has the same number of breaks. Maybe look at internet for 5 minutes, maybe read the paper, look at phone etc,.

All depends where you work and how you work.

True.

Facetime and Skype have broken the boundaries of fixed time meetings and out of hours no contact.

I too have a dislike of smokers taking a few mins off too, but I do think those that I know who do it are far more productive because of the breaks. Like most of us, we choose to apply ourselves when we feel comfortable in our place of work, less comfortable when there are restrictions and backward looking work time practices.

IMO

and out of hours no contact.

Anyone who allows work to contact them "out of hours" without being paid is letting their workplace make them work for free

work is work, home is home, never mix the two.

IMO

I wouldn't employ smokers to start with

SMOKERIST!!!!

I wouldn’t employ smokers to start with

Oooh! Get mr controversial.

Anyone he refuses to let work contact them out of hours just being awkward. IMO

Or is protective about his home life and does not want to work for free. Unless of course they are paying you on call. Get a phone call from work half way thru your rest period it resets the clock. 11 hours rest between shifts. so finish work at 5. Due in at 8am. Phone call at 11 pm means the 11 hour clock is reset and you cannot legally go to work until 10am

These laws are there to protect you.

I'd like to see them implement this at my workplace, especially as some of my colleagues take the piss; having a smoke break 5 minutes before morning break, doing the same before the lunchtime break and having a final fag 15 minutes before home time.

I get some of the time back by taking at least one porcelain cruise every day.

Screen break not a break from work.

As I say. Just because you're away from your desk, does not necessarily mean you're not working.

It does, so long as you afford non-smokers regular “not-smoking breaks” also. Totally with you on the ‘thinking time,’ I’ve done some of my best work whilst driving to / from work or having a poo. It’s when smokers get extra breaks over non-smokers to feed their habit that it becomes problematic.

Our office has games consoles, pool table, etc... You're encouraged to go and have a game at any time.

I do see the problem. Particularly with manual labour and jobs where output depends on the completion of repetitive tasks. Though in my experience, those are generally the jobs that enforce very strict timekeeping and set breaks anyway.

When your job consists of a lot of mental stimulation, regular breaks are essential in my opinion. Now as a non-smoker, on a busy day, I'll often zone out for a few minutes every hour, have something of a micro-rest, and bang, back to work. Otherwise I'm just exhausted.

I'd wager phone/internet use is a much bigger problem. How many people complaining about the smokers are typing this at work?

I should be given extra holidays to offset the fact I won’t have maternity leave….. ever!

Neither will I, being male.

When can I take my extra holidays?

Going back to the original point, what do we think is actually the thinking behind this?

- Attempt to reward non-smokers?
- Punishing smokers?
- Encouraging smokers to become non-smokers?
- Getting people to think about work breaks?
- Getting publicity for company?
- Several or all of the above?
- Something else?

Any thoughts?

Treating everyone equally regardless of whether they smoke or not?

– Attempt to reward non-smokers?
– Encouraging smokers to become non-smokers?

From reading what the boss man says it's those 2.

Only thing that bugs me about smoking policy at my place, is the outside smoking bench is in the nicest location. Only bugs me in the summer, when I like to have lunch outside, of course.
Oh and the ashtray stink that one bloke brings back in with him. Pongy bastard. Apart from that, I'm as unproductive as they are, if not worse 😆

What about those that sit on the crapper for 20 minutes at a time? That's 78 hours a year they are getting away with not working. If I can push one out in 3 minutes can I have an extra 4 days holiday?

work is work, home is home, never mix the two.

This x1 million. Work boss tried calling me a few times one evening. Got the hump when I didn't answer. Told him to f-off, I stop working at 5pm, if I'm at home I'm not at work.

As for the smoking thing. I am in the midst of giving up, not having that 5 mins break every couple of hours is killing me a little bit. I guess if I enjoyed my work that would be different but it just means I'm spending more time sat in an office with people I don't like doing a job I hate.

not having that 5 mins break every couple of hours is killing me a little bit.

Anything stopping you from just taking that break anyway? Replace your nicotine addiction with a caffeine addiction. (-:

I've been drinking more coffee than I though was humanly possible. Speaking of which, time to stand in the kitchen watching the kettle boil. I have cracked once on the smoking front, due to not having had one for over a week it was both fantastic and disgusting in equal measure.

Just need to work on the crap job thing.

Whenever I have started a new job, I'm ready for the "do you smoke" question. My answer has always been "no, but I'll take non-smoking breaks".

This policy would stop my non-smoking breaks, should my current work have had a similar attitude to smoking breaks.

I wouldn’t employ smokers to start with

That’s my company policy. I employ freelancers but not those that smoke.
If I worked in an office I would take my old tyre pressure gauge* with me and stand outside holding it for 15min upwind from the smokers/douche-flute wheezers.

*it looks a bit like a vape thingy.

As an ardent anti smoking type I'm still not convinced. For many work places the fag break has an element of 'crafty' about it. It is not sanctioned, it just happens. Giving extra leave will, given time, be perceived as denying leave to smokers - i.e. the standard leave is now 24 days but if you smoke we dock you 4 of those. That then legitimises the fag break - 'if they are going to knock 4 days off my leave I'm going to be blatant and take the piss'.

I would far rather see every employee get (and be encouraged to take) three ten min breaks a day regardless of if you are a smoker of not. Smokers who want to smoke go outside, everyone else chats in the kitchen or goes outside to the non carcinogenic areas. The condition I would put is that they must be taken on the hour (half hour, whatever - 'ten at ten past'. some might choose 1310, some 1510 - whatever suited their commitments) so that members of different departments mingled with more frequency. I might be miffed by colleagues getting extra time off for fag breaks but they often come back with intel about stuff going on around the business and have better relationships outside of their immediate colleague than us clean healthy types. That's positive for the business and could be seen as a model for the whole organisation.