I'm not the break police so it doesn't matter. As long as it doesn't affect my business, I don't see why I should concern myself with it. I expect the same from my co workers. Unless you want to work in an environment where everybody is trying to micromanage behind each others backs.
Smoke breaks, when do you start complaining?
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Socially speaking, as a 31 year old. Smoke breaks happen wherever people are working, unless banned by the company. At your company, people are smoking. Obviously it isn't banned. You're feigning ignorance at this concept.
Is smoking banned at your job because the FDA has deemed it addictive Yes, or No?
If smoking is banned at your job, then again, your lawsuit is looking that much better! And this once again, falls into the common sense bin, where you continue to just make up excuses about why you haven't done anything about it. The picture I'm getting is that you have to do everyones job, as there is a literal smoking party going on outside. And even your manager is smoking a Cigarette flavored E-Cig in the office that you can smell.
If its this bad, you have grounds to complain. As common sense would dictate, if you're working 5 persons jobs and your manager is blowing smoke in your face. I mean what else is there..?
I don't even smoke but it sounds like you are crying about a non issue and are too worried with what others are doing. . Do your work. Worry about yourself. Get ahead. You're welcome.
Liberty4all
Banned
My point is that my colleagues and I cover for each other no matter the situation. Be it me going for a smoke, or them coming in late, or whatever. We aren't looking to complain to HR/Management on each other. That sort of attitude leads to unemployment.
Giving breaks to smokers is against the policy. People breaking policy doesn't suddenly mean it is permitted by the company.
"Employees have stolen merchandise and money. Obviously stealing isn't banned."
This is the logic you are employing. I don't get why you are trying to tell me what the policies of my own job are.
RoninChaos
Member
It's not. It's that you're acting super passive aggressive about it. People are giving you their opinions and you're like "you don't know what I do!" C'mon OP. That's bitch level shit.
Bottom line, If your boss goes out and does it too, you aren't gonna win that fight. Start doing the same amount of work they are or just keeping doing what you're doing and focus on you. Focusing on how fair things are will drive you fucking crazy AND you will still be in the same place tomorrow as you are today.
My last job had people doing this shit all the time. Even the no smokers would go out with them sometimes just to take a break. Retail fucking blows. Don't give yourself a heart attack about this shit.
I don't want to cover for bad habits. If I had a coworker that was constantly late, and that impacted my work, I would I complain. I do not need to play a pointless backscratching game when I don't need my back scratched. If I am late, I'll deal with the consequences and do my best to not be late. It's easy to call for teamwork when it lets you take constant breaks while others do your work.
I have not been passive aggressive at all. Do you know what that means? And this is a nationwide company. The store manager isn't a king.
Liberty4all
Banned
Because policies and reality are often different. At many workplaces you either get with the program or face being ostracized. Even if you WERE to go to HR and rat out your manager, it's possible that when questioned by HR he would turn it around to make YOU look like the one with a problem (point out workplace behaviours or whatever).
My point is that since your manager does smoke, this is a "spotlight" question. Do you really want to put the spotlight on yourself for what amounts to nothing?
Over my 20 years of work, if there is one thing I've learned, AVOID THE SPOTLIGHT. That's why everyone is saying do your work and go home.
IdreamofHIME
Member
You should totally bring this up with your boss, even better someone above him. Being a pariah and hate figure in the workplace is awesome fun.
Kano on the Phone
Member
Damn dude, you sound like a lot of fun. You should be less worried about what other people are doing and more worried about the fact that you sound like a really unlikable co-worker and a pain in the ass from a management perspective.
RoninChaos
Member
You have been in this thread.
If it's a nationwide company, call HR.
What's stopping you?
I'm not trying to tell you the policies Which is why i asked if it was banned. No, not literally banned, but what adults consider banned. As in against policy/terminated for doing so, or written up. You're listing all the reasons you should do something about it. You know, those common sense reasons. Which is why I asked if it was policy.
Stealing is illegal, and it breaks company policy which has different levels of response. You can be fired for stealing, written up, etc. So smoking is breaking the policy as well, you should complain to HR about it, as you're doing everyones work.
If smoking is against official company policy, as I said earlier, you have grounds to do something. And you should do something, since you're doing everyones work and your manager is smoking an ecig inside. The Ecig inside isn't part of policy either, right?
I asked if it says that its specifically not allowed for smoke breaks to happen, in an official way. If it is, common sense once again says go higher up and complain about it. Or, if its really bugging you, consult some legal folks and see if this can be a big payday for you. If/when they let you go for complaining.
I'm just trying to help you out, but all you want to do is make flimsy excuses about why you're not doing anything about it, yet are so confused on why. Its bullshit buddy.
What I notice is people wanting to keep the status quo when they are benefitting. I've never had problems making complaints at work. I'm not going to be scared into accepting unfair terms. This is work. I don't really care if employees don't like me. I'm not trying to be the cool guy. And even if I was looking to go up within the company, I wouldn't allow this to discourage me. I understand that connections matter, but I'm not going to work as if they are the only thing that matters.
I was pretty unforgiving about this. I managed a little café and allowed *one* smoke break per day from my employees. And only during downtime after we had lunch prepped. The owner didn't want me to allow any smoke breaks, but I thought it was harmless to allow one.
Just in general, I find that smokers tend to want more breaks than non-smokers do. And that's not cool. You don't get special privileges just because you have an addiction to a shitty, useless drug.
Just in general, I find that smokers tend to want more breaks than non-smokers do. And that's not cool. You don't get special privileges just because you have an addiction to a shitty, useless drug.
At my first job I used to just hang out with them on smoke breaks. I was the only one who didn't smoke but it made no sense to me that they'd get extra breaks.
Later on when we got a new supervisor/manager guy, he was a complete asshole to me for no real reason and of course got on my case about taking those breaks. The ridiculous thing is that he did it when he was on his way out there for a smoke break.
I just kept doing it anyways. I didn't really give a shit at that point, we all got laid off a few months later anyways.
Later on when we got a new supervisor/manager guy, he was a complete asshole to me for no real reason and of course got on my case about taking those breaks. The ridiculous thing is that he did it when he was on his way out there for a smoke break.
I just kept doing it anyways. I didn't really give a shit at that point, we all got laid off a few months later anyways.
So with all these bold words said..
What is the reason that you've done nothing about the smokers at your job causing you to do all of their work, and a manager that smokes an Ecig inside that smells identical to cigarettes..?
You don't say.
I took your questions are a rhetorical argument for why they are doing is allowed to take extra breaks. Smoking on premises isn't allowed. Smoking during breaks off premises is allowed. Extra breaks are not entitled for smokers. It's purely a manager choosing to give them.
Kano on the Phone
Member
Except that it will impair you from moving up. No one wants to promote a whiner who's overly concerned with other people. You'll find as you work, especially in real jobs, keeping on good terms with your co-workers is a good idea. You never know who you'll need a reference from or who might be there to speak ill of you when you go for a job somewhere else.
anarckitty
Member
OP, while I understand your frustration, you will come off as a pain in ass worker whether that's the actual case or not. If this is not a career job as you've stated, you are better off just not complaining about it at work, keeping your head down, and just doing your job.
I've waited a period of time to see if it would stop. I've brought it up to my manager. I'm at the point now where I'd talk to people higher up.
Liberty4all
Banned
Speaking to the bolded part you SHOULD care if other people like you. It effects your longevity at a company, promotions, raises, pretty much everything.
You do not exist in your own bubble when at the workplace.
anarckitty
Member
This is true. Whether you decide to agree with it or not, it is true.
I am not going to change to appease others. I am friendly and work well with others. That doesn't mean I have to do everything with the fear of "But what if they won't like me!?"
PetriP-TNT
Member
You sound like a really fun guy
Yes, when you are doing other persons workloads at work, and getting paid the same as they get paid to do nothing.
You should complain to people higher up.
Here is a helpful hint. Its not about "LOL WHAT IF THEY DON't LIKE ME!?!?!" Its that while you're being, the way you are, others who aren't exactly as harshly obvious as you are, progress in the professional world. This is hanging out with the Managers/Bosses in ways that you might not be included into due to the way you act. While they still are devoutly christian/straight edge/ or whatever they privately are at home. If you can get your job done, you get your job done. When you can't, obviously, you complain.
This isn't exactly endorsing meth use in the office. In the grand scheme of a professional career, as others have pointed out.. complaining about smoke breaking co-workers goes away with better skilled/higher paying jobs. Either you're making too much to care, or smokers are still professional folks at certain points. You take things the wrong way, then you make judgements based on the imagined attitude of why things are being said to you.
CapitalismSucks DonkeyBalls
Banned
You want to complain about people smoking even though none of this is affeecting your work performance right now.
You don't care if you become the office pariah and lack any sort of friendly relationship with your coworkers or boss.
You refuse to simply deal with it like an adult and understand that, policy or not, smoke breaks have existed long before you were born and will likely continue to do so.
You sound like a fun person to be around. Good luck, Dwight Schrute.
You don't care if you become the office pariah and lack any sort of friendly relationship with your coworkers or boss.
You refuse to simply deal with it like an adult and understand that, policy or not, smoke breaks have existed long before you were born and will likely continue to do so.
You sound like a fun person to be around. Good luck, Dwight Schrute.
Me and my buddy would just go stand outside for a little bit. Whenever anyone would ask what we were doing, we would say we're taking our cigarette break. It was a little childish, but it was also unfair for others to leave us out front to handle their business. Just because they smoke they get an extra 15 to 30 minutes to stand around while I pick up the slack?
IAmRandom31
Banned
let us smoke in the building then
now that I smoke e-cigs it is much better since I can do it in the building without issue. thank god for that
Extremely petty IMO and I say that as a non smoker.
Rather that complain that some people get nice things, why not complain at the fact you don't get nice things too? It shouldn't be a race to the bottom. Everyone should have more rights and more benefits. You shouldn't remove benefits as they're getting something more than you, it's the same with wealth.
You shouldn't take away money from those with it, but give more money and power to the people who don't have it.
PlayALLtheGames
Banned
Every other hour is not even that often. In a typical working day that's, what, 4 times a day? I feel like there are people at my office that goes more frequently and this is the corporate headquarters of a Fortune 200 company.
I don't see much of a problem with this. I mean e-cigs of course.
We were petty at 15 years old, but it's also pretty shitty to burden someone else because of a disgusting habit. It's fine if you smoke, but don't let it affect others. If it does then there's a problem. We did complain that these people were burdening the rest of the crew with their extra breaks and nothing was done, so we resorted to taking extra breaks to get the point across. Smoking policy was enforced after that. They were never really supposed to take extra breaks.
biggersmaller
Banned
Part-time after school gig? Wah. letitgo.gif
I used to smoke at work. When I first started we had a smoking break room. Then we had to move outside, which in a office tower meant wasting the time of taking the elevator 27 floors. I found this to be a pointless use of time, so I switched to vaping. I initially was able to vape at my desk, but then HR updated their tobacco policy to include smokeless nicotine products (there were no complaints).
Now I'm trying to quit all together, however that process does make the day much more stressful and distracting than it needs to be.
I used to smoke at work. When I first started we had a smoking break room. Then we had to move outside, which in a office tower meant wasting the time of taking the elevator 27 floors. I found this to be a pointless use of time, so I switched to vaping. I initially was able to vape at my desk, but then HR updated their tobacco policy to include smokeless nicotine products (there were no complaints).
Now I'm trying to quit all together, however that process does make the day much more stressful and distracting than it needs to be.
I'd rather not stink like an astray.
NullPointer
Member
Let gaming wisdom guide you.
Don't nerf smokers, buff everyone else to fall in line.
Don't nerf smokers, buff everyone else to fall in line.
You're right. You can't appease everyone and shouldn't care about every single person in your company in fine detail.
BUT
You should care about developing a rapport with the people you interact with daily. This was the first thing my dad told me when I got my first minimum wage food service job and he was exactly right. At the end of the summer, when I had to go back to school, I asked if I could come back next summer (basically reserve my position for nine months) and my manager agreed because we got along so well and did my job through thick and thin.
Maybe join them on their break? Find something to do with them so you're not just standing around, but chillin with your boss and coworkers will definitely help you in the long run.
I dont want this to sound snotty, but as someone who works in a corporate environment. Dont worry about what other people are doing. Worry about yourself. The work will speak for itself, and you dont want to get involved in peoples childish games.
THe company i work for counts smoke breaks as your 15 minute break. And you cant smoke on the property at all anymore, so they have to walk across the street in the winter. Pretty amazing to see
THe company i work for counts smoke breaks as your 15 minute break. And you cant smoke on the property at all anymore, so they have to walk across the street in the winter. Pretty amazing to see
Smoke breaks by themselves do not bother me. What bothers me is they act as a sort of shadowy, unlogged break time, where people can take 10-15 minute breaks 2-3 times a day that aren't counted towards their lunch or off time during the day.
Or that has been my experience, at least. Smokers are not held accountable for that time. If a smoker heads outside for a smoke, that is not counted against him; if a worker takes a 15 minute break just to surf the internet, that is frowned upon. It's a sort of "out of sight, out of mind" phenomenon that really bothers me in the unwritten rules of office politics.
Or that has been my experience, at least. Smokers are not held accountable for that time. If a smoker heads outside for a smoke, that is not counted against him; if a worker takes a 15 minute break just to surf the internet, that is frowned upon. It's a sort of "out of sight, out of mind" phenomenon that really bothers me in the unwritten rules of office politics.
A.D. Skinner
Member
The last office job I worked, the heads had decided that it was one smoke break before, and one after lunch, no others. That as a rule was fine, but they would always sneak for more and I started to take notes of each person who went and when, showed them the list and then they all stopped, I win!
Also, I just started going out to chat for 5 minutes twice a day with some of the people in the office I got on well with. They the heads called me in and asked if I smoked, I simply said no...then after a pause they asked why I go out with smokers..."because I feel I deserve a 5 minute break as much as smokers do"
Issue sorted.
Also, I just started going out to chat for 5 minutes twice a day with some of the people in the office I got on well with. They the heads called me in and asked if I smoked, I simply said no...then after a pause they asked why I go out with smokers..."because I feel I deserve a 5 minute break as much as smokers do"
Issue sorted.
biggersmaller
Banned
I've been salaried for years, but I am a strong supporter of 'shadowy, unlogged break time' - you mention 15 minute smoke breaks being allowed without issue but not surfing the web? I often found the opposite to be true, but I would never discourage anyone from either. I am more against worker in-fighting than micromanaging my peers.
real_slime
Banned
I agree it isn't really fair if smokers are allowed breaks to have a cigarette and other workers aren't given any similar breaks because they don't smoke, or have a 'good reason'. I've been a smoker for the past couple of years and I have taken smoke breaks in my couple of jobs since. Definitely a big part of the enjoyment is the 5 minutes every so often away from work where I can go outside, look at the sky, and get poignant with myself....ahhh....
So there's no reason you shouldn't get a few minutes here and there if there's something you want to do, or just to step outside. You could ask for a smoke break as well, and not smoke. I imagine that might be a bit awkward, but it's probably an option. When I didn't smoke I never really wanted to take those 5 minutes, I never really saw the use of standing still outside for a few minutes. When the people went on their smoke breaks, I didn't fester about it either.
There's always a hint of judgment about the complaints surrounding smoke breaks - I mean, smokers should be getting punished for their habit, not given this little extra perk, right? I don't think that's right, I don't see why some people feel the need to police others so closely and feel like they've got the right to decide what should be punished in their coworkers. It's pretty odd.
So there's no reason you shouldn't get a few minutes here and there if there's something you want to do, or just to step outside. You could ask for a smoke break as well, and not smoke. I imagine that might be a bit awkward, but it's probably an option. When I didn't smoke I never really wanted to take those 5 minutes, I never really saw the use of standing still outside for a few minutes. When the people went on their smoke breaks, I didn't fester about it either.
There's always a hint of judgment about the complaints surrounding smoke breaks - I mean, smokers should be getting punished for their habit, not given this little extra perk, right? I don't think that's right, I don't see why some people feel the need to police others so closely and feel like they've got the right to decide what should be punished in their coworkers. It's pretty odd.
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