Should Tuscaloosa, Alabama Smokers Get Paid Less and Work More?
If you smoke, that’s your business. My parents smoked for years. So, I’m not the judge and jury on smoking.
They used to call me “lil’ cigarette” because I smelled like smoke sometimes because of the way my parents would light up in the car. Did my parents care? Nope, they kept on smoking.
They did eventually quit NOT because I beg them to do so. It was because the cost became so expensive. Go figure.
Anyhoo, back to my rant about how non-smokers deserve more time off! I recently got into a conversation with a friend who was totally bent out of shape over the smokers at her workplace. Here were some of “her” key observations.
“They take SO MANY smoke breaks that last FOREVER”
“They blow smoke in your face, just to be NASTY about it”
“The smokers don’t clean up behind themselves, leaving their butts everywhere”
“I’ve seen them take a smoke break BEFORE they go to lunch and after, so that adds 30 minutes to their lunch break”
“The stench from their smoking patterns, stink up our meeting rooms”
Trust me there were more grievances, so those were just the highlights and perhaps filled with extra drama but she was mad.
I don't think all smokers act this way. However, I think she is right about the “breaks.” How do smokers get time away from work in a “break” format but non-smokers don’t? Seriously, those 15 to 30-minute smoke breaks add up. The math is mathing.
USA Today conducted a poll and found that a “whopping 42% of non-smokers feel they should get 3-5 extra vacation days than non-smokers and 28% of smokers agree with that amount.”
What Other Countries Are Doing About It
In 2020, a U.K. company started offering “non-smoking staff four extra days of vacation per year,” according to Global News.
The Japanese marketing firm Piala Inc. received a complaint “about how smoke breaks were affecting productivity” from a non-smoking employee. Mind you that smoking is deeply ingrained in Japan. “The company granted non-smoking staff an additional six days off each year to make up for the time smokers take for cigarette breaks,” according to CNBC.
I think I’m going to start taking “smoke breaks” in 2022 but not smoke. I’m gonna sit outside for 15 minutes with a smile on my face and minding my business.
(Source) Click here for more from USA Today. For more information from Global News, click here. For additional details from CNBC, click here.