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Company gives non-smokers six days holiday to compensate for cigarette breaks

independent.co.uk

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Re: Company gives non-smokers six days holiday to compensate for cigarette breaks

#81

Post by nik736 »

drinchev wrote: post #75

Cigarette break is not a break every time. You usually can't stop thinking about work for the 10 minutes you spend outside. It's quite the opposite. Smoking break usually shifts you the direction of thinking and you solve a problem probably faster. Not because of the cigarettes itself, but because of the environment change. This whole idea sounds like "People without social media accounts are allowed 1 more day off,…

For us developers this might be true, but I also know people who just smoke every hour, they stop doing what they are doing just to get their cig... and that's everything but effective.

Re: Company gives non-smokers six days holiday to compensate for cigarette breaks

#82

Post by wott »

majewsky wrote: post #50
stronglikedan wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to mention the amount of problems that are solved over a cigarette. I don't know if it was placebo, or a mental jolt from the nicotine, but I've come up with many a solution on a cigarette break. I don't smoke any more (thankfully), but when I did it at work, I was usually thinking of a work problem, and thus working.

Yeah, this has nothing to do with the smoking. Just the fact that you allow your mind to wander. The same effect can be had from taking a shower.

Double the effect if you smoke outside in Britain.

Re: Company gives non-smokers six days holiday to compensate for cigarette breaks

#83

Post by Shinchy »

bryanlarsen wrote: post #5

Does the company have a culture of encouraging people to actually take those holidays? Based on my experience in Japan, nobody actually uses their holiday time, to avoid losing face at work. The only holidays people actually take are the public holidays. Luckily, they have a good number of them, including a whole week at the beginning of May.

In the UK you're often forced to take your holiday.

Re: Company gives non-smokers six days holiday to compensate for cigarette breaks

#84

Post by ZoeZoeBee »

amai wrote: post #74
dionidium wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's indicative of the hysteria around secondhand smoke that someone on HN could seriously think that occasionally standing near people smoking outside is a serious health risk.

Please read about the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_smoking#Evidence .

>Twenty rats in each exposure group were exposed to the smoke seven hours a day for 21 days. The method of exposure was ‘‘head only’’, meaning that the rats were placed head first in snug fitting plastic tubes with a screened head portion that projected into a duct through which the smoky air flowed.

Try the same with car exhaust and see how it goes

Re: Company gives non-smokers six days holiday to compensate for cigarette breaks

#85

Post by Retric »

sotojuan wrote: post #56
athenot wrote: post #42

As a non-smoker I used to go on the smoke breaks with coworkers. Not as an excuse for time away from work but rather to get up and brainstorm things. That turned out to be more productive than stay seated and let my wheels spin in my brain. Nowadays we use the coffee/watercooler break but it's not quite the same as getting out of the building, feeling the outside air against the skin (hot or cold) and getting a chang…

If you live in an urban area, I highly recommend walking to a coffee shop instead of using whatever you have in the office kitchen. While it costs money, I've found it a great way to take a break from work.

> walking to a coffee shop

That's no reason to actually buy coffee though. You can just take a walk in the middle of the day.

Re: Company gives non-smokers six days holiday to compensate for cigarette breaks

#86

Post by loco5niner »

dionidium wrote: post #60
amai wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You know about the dangers of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_smoking ?

It's indicative of the hysteria around secondhand smoke that someone on HN could seriously think that occasionally standing near people smoking outside is a serious health risk.

I take it seriously enough that I hold my breath while walking past someone smoking.

Re: Company gives non-smokers six days holiday to compensate for cigarette breaks

#87

Post by fasquoika »

loco5niner wrote: post #86
dionidium wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's indicative of the hysteria around secondhand smoke that someone on HN could seriously think that occasionally standing near people smoking outside is a serious health risk.

I take it seriously enough that I hold my breath while walking past someone smoking.

That's honestly ridiculous. I'd understand if you just don't like the smell, but there's no real health risk involved in walking past someone smoking

Re: Company gives non-smokers six days holiday to compensate for cigarette breaks

#88

Post by dionidium »

loco5niner wrote: post #86
dionidium wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's indicative of the hysteria around secondhand smoke that someone on HN could seriously think that occasionally standing near people smoking outside is a serious health risk.

I take it seriously enough that I hold my breath while walking past someone smoking.

I mean, this demonstrates my point.

Re: Company gives non-smokers six days holiday to compensate for cigarette breaks

#89

Post by danellis »

Raphmedia wrote: post #47

I've never understood this. Don't everyone get the same breaks? Are smokers considered as having a health condition and thus granted extra breaks? It's not as if the boss came in one day and told people "Everyone gets 2 x 15 minutes of breaks a day. Except for smokers, you guys can take all the breaks you want." If my employer gives me 2 x 15 minutes of breaks a day, I'll take those even if I don't smoke.

What job do you do that your employer is telling you how many breaks you can have?

Re: Company gives non-smokers six days holiday to compensate for cigarette breaks

#90

Post by sova »

Retric wrote: post #85
sotojuan wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you live in an urban area, I highly recommend walking to a coffee shop instead of using whatever you have in the office kitchen. While it costs money, I've found it a great way to take a break from work.

> walking to a coffee shop That's no reason to actually buy coffee though. You can just take a walk in the middle of the day.

That three dollar cup of coffee could easily have become 7 shares of a biotech penny stock.
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