Smokers cost bosses nearly £2,000 a year

Workers who take regular smoke breaks are considered disruptive by their colleagues at the cost of their company, according to new research. A study by Vapourlites and the British Heart Foundation revealed that frequent smokers could be taking up to four breaks a day, costing bosses around £1,815 a year per employee.

Causing friction among non-smokers, two in three believe that workers that take extra breaks outside of allocated times are creating an unfair work environment. 58% of non-smoking office workers have suggested that smoking breaks should be documented and timed for efficiency as many bosses often let workers go to smoke whenever they feel the need. While some workers worry that too much time is being wasted, others argue that taking a break can actually boost overall productivity.

“I understand that many of my colleagues smoke to gain relief from the everyday pressures of work,” said Bristol HR assistant Samantha in the report. “They take numerous smoking breaks throughout the day, which usually last between 10 to 15 minutes each. This is on top of breaks already provided and it’s unfair on those who don’t smoke.

“I believe that companies need to actively enforce a fair cap on the duration of smoking breaks to limit excessive disruption and wasted hours during work.”

Many admitted that they were worried about workers taking too much time out of the day, disrupting the workflow and affecting concentration, especially when it comes to teamwork. Along with 44% expressing concerns of smoking negatively affecting employees’ workloads, nearly one third have even made a complaint to senior staff about the length or frequency of their colleagues’ smoke breaks.

“It’s when I received their complaints, that I did really see their point of view,” explained managing director Damien. “By allowing these breaks, we were effectively reducing the working hours for those employees who smoked whilst maintaining normal working hours for the rest.”

Some bosses have introduced universal employee breaks either side of lunch to combat disruption, allowing for staff to continue discussing their work as a group while taking their break. Introducing universal breaks for his Birmingham-based digital marketing agency, Damien is confident that the overall work atmosphere has been boosted.

“These uninterrupted breaks have worked fantastically well for the smokers as well as non-smokers,” continued Damien. “It’s created a fair system and I would recommend the same or similar concept to all companies facing the same dilemmas.”