Great idea. Too many smokers wasting company time 6-7 times a day with their smoke breaks. Then they stink up the office and elevators all day. My company routinely does not hire smokers and does not promote smokers as often as non-smokers. Makes you wonder why people continue with such a nasty habit.
Having worked in offices with smokers, I don't know if it's fair to not hire smokers, but it is fair to regulate the breaks. I mean, a regular healthy person can't go outside 5-7 times a day, 10 minutes at a time, for fresh air can they?
Today smokers, tomorrow it'll be body fat. Soda pop drinkers on deck.
The company is only concerned on the effect this has on their insurance premiums.
Yes, this is troubling trend. Another nail in the coffin towards making us a nanny state. Yet this is nothing new. The thinking that goes into these types of bans is the same thinking that targeted other groups in the past, such as gays, minorities (pick your minority), women, the poor etc. etc.
The fact is that you can always find a good reason to ban some group or the other. The only difference is that right now the political climate allows smokers to be discriminated against. There is nothing new under the sun, other than the history we haven't read.
Having worked in offices with smokers, I don't know if it's fair to not hire smokers, but it is fair to regulate the breaks. I mean, a regular healthy person can't go outside 5-7 times a day, 10 minutes at a time, for fresh air can they?
I agree with this. Not hiring Smokers is a little drastic but smokers can be terribly under productive with the amount of breaks they take.
Smokers are not a protected class and they willingly choose their disruptive habit.
Simple facts:
1. Smokers waste company time
2. They smell worst than dog urine, which I don't want prospective clients to get a whiff of.
This isn't like someone who needs a dialysis machine to live. Imagine if you had a worker who wanted to go outside 6-7 times a day to chew gum for 15 minutes.
Smokers are not a protected class and they willingly choose their disruptive habit.
Simple facts:
1. Smokers waste company time
2. They smell worst than dog urine, which I don't want prospective clients to get a whiff of.
This isn't like someone who needs a dialysis machine to live. Imagine if you had a worker who wanted to go outside 6-7 times a day to chew gum for 15 minutes.
How then do you handle the guy on medication that makes him piss ten times during an eight hour duration ?
Workers are going to work the systen to it's limtations to do what they have to do.
Last year, I worked with a guy on a website project. I knew he was a chain smoker before we started, but I didn't foresee the drawback, until after we had begun. It drove me crazy, every 25 minutes, he would walk outside for a 10 minute smoke break.
I don't smoke and I hate the smell of cigarettes. I agree with this as it's not fair for us, non-smokers, to put up the terribly odor, and consequences of second hand smoking. I had to work on a project with a few classmates last year, and one of them was a smoker. Every 20-30 minutes, this person will have to leave the table to go out and smoke, it took us more time than planned to finish the project as we needed everyone to agree in all of the details and this person was out of side every half hour. Plus, every time that the smoker would come back in, another classmate and I just could not resist the smell and so we had to get up and take a breath. It was a terribly waste of time.
I do not consider not hiring smokers discrimination, as this is a nasty habit that some people choose, knowing beforehand that is unhealthy and costly.
I would say that the only way to make this appropriate would just to ban smoking during work hours. Or, even better, ban time-wasting activities during work hours. I think it is inappropriate to not hire someone for off-work-time activities. However, during those 8-12 hours where you are paying someone to do a job, you should have a reasonable assumption that they will be doing their job.
I think it is stupid for companies to have internet filters up to keep people out of time-wasting website, but then to allow smokers to go out and puff one whenever they want.
Part of the problem I believe is that I understand Florida is not a Worker's Right State. Companies are not required to provide breaks. Kind od uncivilized, don't you think ?
It might have, if someone had done a better job of photo-shopping it.
I understand Michelle plays keep away with the smokes. He's admitted he'll sneak a smoke hera and there. With his ratings tanking at 44%, I'm sure he has the need to access his secret stash in the Oval Office. That being said, one can't argue that this president is fullfilling a busy scedule. Too bad it's to our detriment, but I won't blame it on his smoking habits.
Part of the problem I believe is that I understand Florida is not a Worker's Right State. Companies are not required to provide breaks. Kind od uncivilized, don't you think ?
Is this for real? I have never herad of something like that. I thought it was ilegal for employers not to give their employees a break. How can they get away with it?
Don't forget, smokers cost companies alot more in terms of insurance premiums as well. Being a smoker automatically ups the cost of health insurance for your employer. It's all about cutting costs.
There were a multitude of articles this time last year about how several local companies, UM included, that were exploring the option of charging their employees who smoke more for their insurance plans. I see where they are coming from, what's everyone else's opinion on that?
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Originally Posted by Jim
