Why does my co-worker, who smokes 2 packs of cigarettes per day, think that the world revolves around her and her cigarette breaks?
First, she normallyl goes on her breaks and sucks down 2, 120mm cigarettes in a 15 minute period. Then, she comes back to work, stinking of stale smoke. Then, she hacks CONSTANTLY, and farts while she’s hacking. She’s very, very obese and I fear that she is a heart attack just waiting to happen.
This is the same woman who interrupted our department director in the middle of a meeting because it was her break time.
Today is the icing on the cake though. We’re both working 4 hours today and 4 hours tomorrow. Our department stipulates that you must work 4 hours to be entitled to a break. My way of thinking says, I work 4 hours and I get to go home, that’s my break. Her way of thinking says, work 2 hours, take a 15 minute smoke break and then go back to work for an hour and 45 minutes. She asked me (I’m the “team leader”) if she could go on a short break because “there’s no way I can go for 4 hours without a cigarette”. I told her no. If I give her a break, I’ll have to give everyone a break.
We’ve got 40 minutes left in our shift and she’s actually hunched over her desk with her hands on her face, sobbing because I “wouldn’t let her go smoke”.
Well, granted, the cravings can be quite intense, but I detect a hint of passive-aggressive behavior here. I’ve encountered co-workers who really, really, really needed a smoke, and they didn’t burst into tears because they couldn’t get their “fix”. They got really bitchy and irritable, yeah, and you were wise not to talk to them until they’d been “out” and back, but they didn’t sit there and weep.
Sounds to me like she has other work-related issues besides smoking.
Cigarettes or no, she’s right. If you’re making your people work 4 hours without allowing them a break, you’re not only following your company’s policy, you’re likely breaking the law.
Well, not only did I type that wrong, i.e., you are NOT following your company’s policy; I did a quick google and found that you are not breaking any laws. Doesn’t mean you’re not an asshole, though.
My co-workers always go smoke. I don’t mind, it gives me the chance to check my email.
However, it used to bug the hell out of me when I worked as a waitress - I didn’t smoke, so I and one other girl were expected to pick up the slack of those who did. That sucked.
FWIW, they can take a bathroom break, go get some water. They just can’t go on a full-fledged break. We work in a high rise bldg, it takes a minimum of 5 min to even get an elevator.
I agree that if you’re working four hours, you should’ve let her go outside for a break. I interpreted the policy as saying if you work four hours, you get a break within those four hours.
But I could be wrong.
Anyhoo: a nic craving can be hell, especially for a two pack a day smoker. I don’t think four hours without a cig would call for weeping at your desk though. I think that was for show.
But comon’, man. Working Christmas eve is bad enough, but not letting one of your employees go outside for 5 minutes to smoke?
I wish that asking someone if they are a smoker was allowed in interviews. I wouldn’t hire a smoker. They miss more time at work, and yes they do stink and hack and cough like death is immenent.
I hate that mentality of “have to have a smoke or I’ll die” that people play into. Too fucking bad, wear the patch. And if that doesnt work then find another line of work because production is based on you being here and being productive.
Im sure someone is going to come along and say, “oh well lets just insert-any-minority- here and see if your hiring ethics are still valid” but my point is this: there are companies that part of the hiring process is getting a physical and having psychological testing. Smoking is an addiction and shows a self denial of scientific proof that it is a danger to your health and others’.
You seriously define a ‘break’ as going home at the end of your shift and expect everyone else to follow that definition?
My company has the same policy–15 minutes of break every 4 hours worked. You may not have any desire to use that 15 minutes, but others are certainly entitled to do so.
Not exactly Nvme77. It’s pretty impossible to be a smoker and not be aware of the fact that it’s bad for you. Smokers don’t smoke out of denial, most of us don’t care. Or don’t feel threatened enough by it to quit. Or can’t quit. Or a plethora of other reasons.
And for the record, I’m the only smoker in my office and miss the least amount of time in the office on a daily basis. When I smoke, I go straight downstairs, smoke, and come back up. 10 minutes, tops, twice a day. My non-smoking coworkers on the other hand, are in and out of the office like cattle, chit chatting with people from the other offices, going for 5 coffee runs a day, taking long lunches, ect.
Is it not? After some Googling and following half a dozen links, I couldn’t find any cites for not being able to ask about smoking.
Coincidentally, on Neal Boortz’s radio show this morning he said that when he was an employer, he refused to hire smokers and fat people, and if he were hiring now, he would add body-piercers to the list. He was a lawyer - of course, maybe the law has changed since he was hiring.
First, the idea that smokers take more days off or whatever is bullocks. It doesn’t matter how many days a person is out of work as long as they are within the company’s guidelines for being out of work or on break. Go ahead. I dare you. Tell everyone that you’ve decided to decrease the number of days off by the exact number of days that smokers take more than non smokers.Whether I’m sick, or don’t feel like coming in, or coughing up a lung is none of YOUR bloody business. That’s my PERSONAL MEDICAL BUSINESS and none of yours. If I’m out more than the company allows, then fire me. Otherwise, PISS OFF!!! Unless you want to cut everyone’s allowed time off.
Second, never forget that a smoke is at the very least a time to relax. Its the time that we smokers remind ourselves that the world is not crashing down on us, and even it is, it isn’t at this very moment. How sad it must be for non smokers to never find the few moments of solice that we find. How pitiful it must be that non-smokers must rant and rave about on a constant treadmill of trials and tribulations.
Admit it. That’s what you really hate about smokers. It’s not that you despise the smoker for his vice, but instead his ability to, for a precious few minutes in the day, say “Fuck it. I’m havin’ a smoke”.
I’m not admitting jack shit here. I’m not jealous of you and your greasy-air-filter lungs. As long as you don’t use more than the allotted company break time on cigarettes (and as long as I adhere to the same rules) then we got no beef: but don’t tell me how I feel about your so-called ability to find Relaxation Through Carcinogens, 'kay?
Yeah! I wouldn’t hire women either! They have this horrible habit of getting pregnant and missing work. And damn, I can’t even start to figure out how much time they must waste when talking about their crappy children and showing pictures to people!
Hell, thinking of that, anyone with kids is out too, since those bastards sometimes have to take time off to go to their kids’ worthless baseball games or pick up their vomiting spawn at the school nurse. Non-atheists are out as well, so I can be sure those lamers aren’t taking days off for religious holidays or baptisms and crap!
