A Japanese company is granting non-smoking employees an extra six days of paid holidays a year after they complained that they were working more than staff who took time off for cigarette breaks.

 

Tokyo-based marketing firm Piala Inc. only introduced the non-smokers' perk in September, but employees have been quick to take advantage."One of our non-smoking staff put a message in the company suggestion box earlier in the year saying that smoking breaks were causing problems", said Hirotaka Matsushima, a spokesman for the company.

 

Non-smokers get six days extra paid leave to make up for smokers' cigarette breaks at Japanese firm

They just fired two people here who were taking excessive smoke breaks.

I like it.

They just fired two people here who were taking excessive smoke breaks.

 

Makes sense, if you want to treat employees equally you can't have a group taking an extra '30 minutes' in breaks each day and a group that doesn't get those breaks.

I like it.

 

Me too and it has nothing to do with smoking or not smoking.

6 days seems low to me, a lot of smokers that I've known worked in more than 30 minutes a day.

6 days seems low to me, a lot of smokers that I've known worked in more than 30 minutes a day.

 

I pulled the 30 minutes out of you know where but I do agree 6 days seems a little low...

I like the idea but I think it would be more efficient/profitable if they gave the employees set breaks and if they used extra, either cut their pay or cut the employee.

 

I have worked at many companies and this was always an issue. The company I'm at now does not allow smoking on campus. Can't even smoke in your own car, they make you drive off campus if you want to smoke.

6 days seems low to me, a lot of smokers that I've known worked in more than 30 minutes a day.

 

I pulled the 30 minutes out of you know where but I do agree 6 days seems a little low...

 

Even at just 15 minutes a day...times 5 days/wk = 1.25 hrs/wk

1.25 hrs/wk x 50 weeks (not counting 2 for vacation) = 62.5 hrs.

62.5 hrs. divided by 8 hr day = 7.81 days

For self insured companies the smokers cost them more to begin with.

 

I worked with a guy, when we went non smoking, he occasionally would call me and walk outside to discuss something while he smoked. The man could down a cigarette in about 30 seconds.

To me, this is a management issue. There is no need to provide extra time to anyone as long as all employees are held to the same standard.

Can I get extra time off to compensate for the number of hours my co-workers gossip in each other's areas?

To me, this is a management issue. There is no need to provide extra time to anyone as long as all employees are held to the same standard.

 

Agreed. I've been on both sides of the coin. Good management ensures that the number and length of breaks are applied equally.

What is so hard about this? Where I worked EVERYBODY got 3 breaks a day. A 15 min break in the morning, a lunch break, and a 15 minute in the afternoon. That was all (restroom visits not factored in unless an obvious abuse was noticed). And if you were caught taking extra breaks you were brought in for a pow wow with your supervisor. If it continued, you were given a warning/reprimand and then dismissal if it still continued.

 

I guess an extra 6 days is nice for the non-smokers but they're still covering for those folks taking numerous cig breaks a day. In my mind they just gave the smokers carte blanche to take as many as they want now.

They just fired two people here who were taking excessive smoke breaks.

 

 

...or just let them smoke in the workplace. That problem solved.