I find it mildly infuriating that some coworkers think entering a break room gives them license to play loud music over speakers, use obscene language (especially to and about other coworkers), and disrupt the fifteen minutes of peace and quiet some of us crave in the workplace.
I also can’t stand the fact that smokers can take unlimited ‘breaks’ whenever they please just to come back stinking up an entire room with their smoke.
Workers taking smoke breaks is fine. Anything that gives workers more breaks is good. You can takethose breaks too. Just tell them its a smoke break. If management says anything, tell them you have just as much need for it as anyone who smokes. Don’t get mad at your fellow workers. Get mad at the employer.
As a former smoker I can relate to both sides. Cigs are pointless crap and I hate them even when I’m smoker myself (I went out of addiction and back several times over years).
Having short breaks for smoke or whatever else is perfectly fine for me, unless everyone do their job. For me personally they’re help, not distraction. If smokers have a special privilege for some reason, it’s super stupid, but that’s on the employee, not smokers.
i used to call them passive smokos
You’ve got me there; lung cancer and heart disease do make for irrefutable excuses to cut out.
Anyway, my complaint was more about the smell of smoke and how it lingers on clothes and in the air for nonsmokers. It wasn’t mentioned in-post, but I’m constantly hearing wet coughs as well, which is both disruptive to my workflow and is just gross (especially in a post-pandemic work environment where people refuse to even cover their mouths or use sanitizer anymore).
Wow. You’re really sensitive to external stimuli, huh? Even just hearing someone cough disrupts your entire workflow? You know that’s not typical, right?
Workers taking smoke breaks is not fine.
Best regards, someone who takes their job seriously.
You sound fun.