I used to have a co-worker who would announce “I’m taking my non-smoking smoking break.”
I thought that was cute. If your place of business allows smokers more breaks than non-smokers, start documenting it. Then you start taking your breaks. If anyone says anything, throw the documentation at them. After all, expecting you to work more because you don’t smoke is a form of discrimination.
Studies have shown higher IQ’s for smokers than non-smokers; usually we are out there smoking and talking about stuff you non-smoker wouldn’t understand.
One of the things I’ve always assumed, being a smoker, is that, while I might end up taking more short breaks during the day (assuming that the workload allows for them), I am not entitled to more time in breaks. What does that mean? Well, I cut lunches short, assuming that I will go and take at least a couple of smoke breaks during the day, and I usually err on the side of cutting myself short on breaks, because I don’t want to be seen as “that girl who’s always on a smoke break or lunch break”.
I also pay close attention to the patterns of the day. I know when the slow times tend to be, and I’ll wait until then. If the day proves to be busy, I won’t go at all - it’s no big deal, because I’m paid to do a job, not to smoke.
If non-smokers are as smart as smokers, why are we even having this discussion? You guys have to try to figure out a good excuse, and we already have one.
Or think about the opposite situation like in my last job. Everyone was given a ten minute break every two hours, but smokers, who of course had to walk down a few steps to go outside the office, had their pay DOCKED the 10 min. while the non-smokers sat in the coffee room. In fact, the smokers were invariably back at their desks well before the n.s. yet we were penalized for it.
:rolleyes:
And while I don’t know if smokers are smarter than non-smokers, but I do (seriously) remember a study from a few years back that smokers were more sociable and had better communication skills than N.S. I’ll try to drum up a cite for you…as soon as I’ve had a fag.
I hear you. I go out, smoke my damned cigarette, and come back in. Two, three minutes. Then someone else goes out, lights up, reads the newspaper, chats with passers-by, takes a nap, I dunno what they’re doing out there. Then they’ll drift back in, past dirty tables and waiting customers, to make a personal phone call. :mad:
We get one hour unpaid lunch each day, the majority of which I spend at my desk working while I eat. Just my preference, as it means I don’t have a mad rush at the end of the day to get everything completed. During this time I’ll pop outside for a five minute smoke; never do I take additional smoke breaks through the day, as I don’t want to be seen as the guy who skives off while everyone else is busy.
Still, I often hear the “smokers get more breaks” line being trotted out with tiresome frequency, usually from those who desert the building for an hour as soon as the clock strikes midday. Considering I spend more time at my desk than they do, I’m very quick to point out that they’re taking the piss.
Apparantly smokers DO have “slightly higher IQ’s”. I’ve also read that alcoholics tend to have significantly higher IQ’s. Smack addicts must be friggin’ geniuses.
Really? Because, darling, you realize, honey, of course, baby, naturally, pumpkin, that we uncultured swine here in Australia know that shit? Ho ho ho you said a word that means something else what jolly fun. Jesus fuck.
At my AM job, there are only two of us doing outbound calls. My co-worker smokes, I don’t. We’re allowed to take a fifteen minute paid break (four hour shift) and as many pee or smoke breaks as needed. We work at our own pace, you see, and as long as we get a reasonable amount of bookings no one cares how or when we do it. My co-worker usually ends up taking a lot more time outs than me, but it’s kind of hard for me to find room to complain. This week I got five completions. (Job actually done).
She got twenty-nine…
Oh, btw, I always have to add the “-” in co-worker, cause if I don’t my mind persists in seeing cow orker! I don’t wanna work with someone who orks cows, do you?!
I was NOT being condescending. I thought kambuckta might have been unaware of the different meaning here in the States. If I underestimated kambuckta’s intelligence, I heartily apologize.
Well, I quit smoking a year ago so I’ve got a bit of perspective from both sides. Yes, I took more “breaks” when I was a smoker. We get two paid 15 minutes and 1/2 hour unpaid lunch. I smoked at all of these and probably snuck in an extra one at some point during the day. No one ever seemed to notice or mind, and a lot of the other smokers are managers or senior scientists who are out there all the time.
Since I’ve quit, I rarely go outside for breaks anymore. Sometimes I go to the lunchroom and read the paper for a bit, but I usually just stay at my desk and surf or make some phone calls or read my mail or whatever. I think I spend just as much time doing that stuff as I ever did smoking.
Actually, kambuckta is probably well aware of the meaning in the States, because “fag” can mean the same thing in Australia as it does in the US. It’s just that, in Australia, it also means “cigarette.”
My company puts a little extra in the bonus envelope for non-smokers to make up for the fact that the smokers get to take their smoke breaks. It’s a large enough amount to keep the non-smokers happy and a small enough amount that the smokers don’t feel they’re getting the shaft.