10/11/2009 9:36:13 PM

You could...quit.

10/11/2009 10:26:27 PM

Have you talked to him about it? If not, that's what you should do. Don't tell him you spent your day making a log of what others did. But i don't think it could hurt to bring up the time the smokers take in sort of an indirect manner. Just don't do it in a whiny way. Just tell him you didn't see it as a big deal because you looked at changing sort of like a smoke break in that it didn't really take any longer.

Everywhere I've worked with "smoke breaks", it wasn't really smoke breaks. Every employee had a lunch break, and 1-2 15 minute "personal breaks." Some people would use that time to smoke, and they would split a 15 minute break into a few 5 minute breaks to smoke.

You could always ask him to make a policy like that. It's fair to everyone. It usually covers the smokers just fine, and the other people have the option if they want... and in my experience, most people don't take the breaks unless they smoke. It's just occasionally to make a call or something. Everyone wins.



out of curiosity, is the biking outfit against the dress code? Is it possible that the policy isn't so much about the time as being inappropriate attire during work hours? Or is it possible that someone complained about your outfit at work and this is how your boss is addressing it? What are you wearing exactly? I could definitely see someone saying something if you're talking about like spandex shorts.

10/11/2009 10:50:14 PM

damn god has all sorts of fans itt [/sarcasm]

10/11/2009 11:33:52 PM

Update: I spoke with him over e-mail about the situation, and he's agreed to let me change from 4:45pm to 5pm. So, the situation was resolved amicably.

10/12/2009 1:08:39 PM

I have also successfully used the smoke-break argument with former employers. I had a boss that smoked like 2 packs in an 8 hour day. I had to leave an hour early one day and he told me to take vacation time. I told him that I would start taking vacation time when he started using vacation time for the hour plus per day that he wasted on smoking. He didn't really have much of an argument at that point.

10/12/2009 1:32:36 PM

you also got fired, IIRC

10/12/2009 1:40:00 PM

^^^nice job. i totally respect that you handled it in that way too


btw-cody read this last night and was pissed for you aha

10/12/2009 3:37:28 PM

Thanks. You can let him know that everything is OK for now.

10/12/2009 3:38:26 PM

Where I work, there are just two 15 minute breaks that you can take before and after lunch. No random smoke breaks. I doubt anything will change, even if you bring it up to the manager. Just think of it this way: they're getting a break now, but they'll also die sooner.

10/12/2009 6:01:57 PM

Quote :

"Everywhere I've worked with "smoke breaks", it wasn't really smoke breaks. Every employee had a lunch break, and 1-2 15 minute "personal breaks." Some people would use that time to smoke, and they would split a 15 minute break into a few 5 minute breaks to smoke. "

That’s how it was when I had a time-clock based job.

The managers would refer to the “mini-breaks” as smoke breaks just heuristically, but they really meant any kind of breaks… one day, one of the “slower” employees got upset by this and called the manager out during a meeting for the supposed unfairness of the “smoke breaks” and everyone busted out laughing (because we all understood “smoke break” to mean any short break we took) while the manager clarified what he meant.

10/12/2009 7:36:33 PM

Quote :

"you also got fired, IIRC"

different job

10/12/2009 7:50:05 PM