Breaks for smoking at work

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  • PaulS67PaulS67 Posts: 12,357
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    How often during the day do you do something that is not work related?

    You say you surf the web a bit if you are no busy, what is this, once per hour, once every 2 hours, how long do you spend doing this?

    Any other non work activities, getting a coffee, going to vending machine, checking emails on your phone and other things

    Do you both arrive at work and start/finish exactly the same time, do you both have the same breaks, do either of you ever have a short break or start a bit earlier
  • Pull2OpenPull2Open Posts: 15,138
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    Kiko H Fan wrote: »
    How often do you spend in the toilet at work?
    What are you doing in the toilet at work?

    Not the most convincing comparison.
  • AxtolAxtol Posts: 8,480
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    I have to admit to never understanding why smokers are allowed extra breaks when non smokers aren't?
  • Pull2OpenPull2Open Posts: 15,138
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    paulsalter wrote: »
    How often during the day do you do something that is not work related?

    You say you surf the web a bit if you are no busy, what is this, once per hour, once every 2 hours, how long do you spend doing this?

    Any other non work activities, getting a coffee, going to vending machine, checking emails on your phone and other things

    Do you both arrive at work and start/finish exactly the same time, do you both have the same breaks, do either of you ever have a short break or start a bit earlier

    If any of that added up to 1hr 20mins of the working day (as per the OP) then there is a problem. However, I would be surprised if any of this stuff, together, added up to more than 30 mins.
  • TRIPSTRIPS Posts: 3,714
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    Am a smoker, can't see how you can justify walking away from your place of work to have a smoke when you should be working, it's not even a choice of clocking off, you cant walk in and out of your job when you please, the only time this is justified is if you are prepared to give and take, you have an understanding with your employer, he knows you will go beyond the call of duty to help out in a crisis, in return he is prepared to let you nip out for a **** during quiet periods.
    Otherwise ,if you want a smoke do it on your break.
  • Hollie_LouiseHollie_Louise Posts: 39,759
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    DianaFire wrote: »
    We can take breaks when we want within reason but we're mostly all in before 9 (we start coming in around 8, while a few are working on trains and get in at 9.30) and few people leave at 5.30 without taking work home with them.

    Our bosses are more concerned about the work being done, not whether it's done on a train to the Sticks at 9pm or outside in the street while having a ciggie at 9.30am.

    It's pretty much like that across our industry. Mileages will vary in others.

    The reason I don't allow it is because it just doesn't fit my business. We walk (quite) a fine line between profit and loss and the production output needs to be good every hour. If I did allow it, it would take 5 minutes to get in and out of the PPE, 5/10 minutes smoking and 5 minutes walking off and back on the site. I have 7 people who smoke in the main production area, if all of them took an extra **** break, I'd lose over an hour of products which adds up.

    3 people in the warehouse, that's 30-45 minutes where they aren't picking products which adds up. Like I say, if we are exceeding the daily target, I'll let everybody go and have 10 minutes extra or individuals will get an extra paid 15 minutes break every now and then.

    The office guy wasn't working on his **** breaks, and if he was I wouldn't have minded as much.
  • PaulS67PaulS67 Posts: 12,357
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    Pull2Open wrote: »
    If any of that added up to 1hr 20mins of the working day (as per the OP) then there is a problem. However, I would be surprised if any of this stuff, together, added up to more than 30 mins.

    it could well be

    or it could be a case of go for a coffee, someone starts talking to you, when you get back to your desk 15 to 20 minutes has gone by, do this 3 times a day and it about an hour lost
  • ValentineValentine Posts: 3,841
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    paulsalter wrote: »
    How often during the day do you do something that is not work related?

    You say you surf the web a bit if you are no busy, what is this, once per hour, once every 2 hours, how long do you spend doing this?

    Any other non work activities, getting a coffee, going to vending machine, checking emails on your phone and other things

    Do you both arrive at work and start/finish exactly the same time, do you both have the same breaks, do either of you ever have a short break or start a bit earlier

    But smokers - and I know for certain the person I'm thinking of does - do these things on top of their additional breaks.

    We do work the same hours but go for breaks (lunch is my only one) at different times.
  • PaulS67PaulS67 Posts: 12,357
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    Valentine wrote: »
    But smokers - and I know for certain the person I'm thinking of does - do these things on top of their additional breaks.

    Can you give an example of a full day for you and the other person of everything non work related and how long
  • Kiko H FanKiko H Fan Posts: 6,546
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    I would find another reason, I wouldn't want to work someone who took breaks, and stunk when you were around them

    I guess you're not actually an employer.

    Imagine if you were the boss of Storm Models. You've just turned away Kate Moss.
  • Kiko H FanKiko H Fan Posts: 6,546
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    Pull2Open wrote: »
    Not the most convincing comparison.

    Why not?

    How many pees and poos do people need in a working day?
    What if they creep in there to onanise?
  • Pull2OpenPull2Open Posts: 15,138
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    paulsalter wrote: »
    it could well be

    or it could be a case of go for a coffee, someone starts talking to you, when you get back to your desk 15 to 20 minutes has gone by, do this 3 times a day and it about an hour lost

    To be honest, in every office I have ever worked in, additional tea breaks ie going to the machine or going to make a brew, are normally at set routines and rarely random times. I have never experienced anyone who has ever worked for or with me, making or getting a brew and it lasting any more than 5-10 minutes, twice per day including when they are getting drinks for the rest of the team. Anyone taking more than an hour in the day to do this sort of thing would flag up.
  • DianaFireDianaFire Posts: 12,711
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    The reason I don't allow it is because it just doesn't fit my business. We walk (quite) a fine line between profit and loss and the production output needs to be good every hour. If I did allow it, it would take 5 minutes to get in and out of the PPE, 5/10 minutes smoking and 5 minutes walking off and back on the site. I have 7 people who smoke in the main production area, if all of them took an extra **** break, I'd lose over an hour of products which adds up.

    3 people in the warehouse, that's 30-45 minutes where they aren't picking products which adds up. Like I say, if we are exceeding the daily target, I'll let everybody go and have 10 minutes extra or individuals will get an extra paid 15 minutes break every now and then.

    The office guy wasn't working on his **** breaks, and if he was I wouldn't have minded as much.

    I wasn't disagreeing with you, just pointing out the differences people can have in working environments and that it's sometimes dictated by the work we have to achieve. Ours is flexible but driven by project deadlines, whereas yours is tighter production targets that requires bodies actually on the floor.

    We even work in coffee shops sometimes if there's no quiet space here. Just depends on the project, the deadline and the room.
  • ValentineValentine Posts: 3,841
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    paulsalter wrote: »
    Can you give an example of a full day for you and the other person of everything non work related and how long

    Not really, that's pretty impossible, I don't have time to be that interested in what she - or anyone else does. The only reason I notice, is that this person sits next to me, so when she puts on her coat to go outside then I can't help but see. She takes some personal calls during the week (I hear them and she sometimes talks to me about the calls). Apart from that, we both turn up at 9 and leave at 5. We work in the same team but do different jobs, so her tasks are different to mine.

    I'm not interesting in spying on the woman - certainly, I'd never report her like I know (she told me herself) some people have - there just seems to be an unfair disparity on smokers being able to freely wander out of the office whenever they feel like it.
  • AneechikAneechik Posts: 20,208
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    Let your boss worry about what your colleagues do.
  • PaulS67PaulS67 Posts: 12,357
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    Pull2Open wrote: »
    To be honest, in every office I have ever worked in, additional tea breaks ie going to the machine or going to make a brew, are normally at set routines and rarely random times. I have never experienced anyone who has ever worked for or with me, making or getting a brew and it lasting any more than 5-10 minutes, twice per day including when they are getting drinks for the rest of the team. Anyone taking more than an hour in the day to do this sort of thing would flag up.

    This is why we cannot just say that someone has more breaks than them without knowing more details

    Every office I have ever worked in people can get a coffee whenever they want (normally just takes a couple of minutes to get and bring it back to the desk), but occasionally you can end up chatting and it takes longer

    At the end of the day, if the job is done and the boss has no issues with your work, I see no difference between someone going for a smoke break or someone else doing whatever they do that is not work related
  • Pull2OpenPull2Open Posts: 15,138
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    paulsalter wrote: »
    This is why we cannot just say that someone has more breaks than them without knowing more details

    Every office I have ever worked in people can get a coffee whenever they want (normally just takes a couple of minutes to get and bring it back to the desk), but occasionally you can end up chatting and it takes longer

    At the end of the day, if the job is done and the boss has no issues with your work, I see no difference between someone going for a smoke break or someone else doing whatever they do that is not work related

    We can say that, based on the information presented in the OP, that taking an additional hour and 20 over the given break times, is excessive. I think it reasonable to assume that as the OP is raising the issue that they don't take an additional hour and 20 out of their working day.
  • PaulS67PaulS67 Posts: 12,357
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    Pull2Open wrote: »
    We can say that, based on the information presented in the OP, that taking an additional hour and 20 over the given break times, is excessive. I think it reasonable to assume that as the OP is raising the issue that they don't take an additional hour and 20 out of their working day.

    You are more trusting than me
  • What name??What name?? Posts: 26,623
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    Axtol wrote: »
    I have to admit to never understanding why smokers are allowed extra breaks when non smokers aren't?

    Ditto fir coffee drinkers. They just waned into the kitchen anytime....
  • ACUACU Posts: 9,104
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    Never worked for a company, that monitored smoke breaks. Then, I havent worked for a small company (less than 50 employees), so not sure if they would be any different.

    I dont smoke or drink tea/coffee, I dont have a problem with people going for a 10 min **** break, or people going to the kitchen to make a coffee and have a natter for 10 mins. I know some people when they go for a **** break, tend to be thinking about work anyway. Its no big deal.
  • exlordlucanexlordlucan Posts: 35,375
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    Valentine wrote: »
    Not really, that's pretty impossible, I don't have time to be that interested in what she - or anyone else does. The only reason I notice, is that this person sits next to me, so when she puts on her coat to go outside then I can't help but see. She takes some personal calls during the week (I hear them and she sometimes talks to me about the calls). Apart from that, we both turn up at 9 and leave at 5. We work in the same team but do different jobs, so her tasks are different to mine.

    I'm not interesting in spying on the woman - certainly, I'd never report her like I know (she told me herself) some people have - there just seems to be an unfair disparity on smokers being able to freely wander out of the office whenever they feel like it.

    Are you at work now and using company time to post here at DS?

    Loads of other members do so you wouldn't be the only one.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 929
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    I always think if you're meeting your targets and working well then it shouldn't matter if you're going out for 5 minutes every hour or so.
  • DanniLaMoneDanniLaMone Posts: 2,274
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    Axtol wrote: »
    I have to admit to never understanding why smokers are allowed extra breaks when non smokers aren't?

    Me too. I have been tempted to pretend to be a smoker so I could hang about outside the office chatting and wasting time.
  • welwynrosewelwynrose Posts: 33,666
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    As a small business owner, I wouldn't let any of my staff walk out for several minutes at a time to have a ****.

    You want to smoke, fine that's your choice. But you don't do it on my time.

    what about going to the toilet or making a cup of tea
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 8,510
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    Valentine, how would you feel is somebody was clocking you every time you used the loo or made a coffee, or spent time chatting ?
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