A company in Japan has taken a creative approach to motivating its employees to quit smoking. Piala Inc., a Tokyo-based organization, is giving its non-smoking staff six extra days of vacation per year. Introduced in September, this new policy is meant to compensate for puffing-related breaks, which are said to consume about 15 minutes each.
“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,” Hirotaka Matsushima, a spokesman for the company, told The Telegraph. “Our CEO saw the comment and agreed, so we are giving nonsmokers some extra time off to compensate.”
The company’s head office is on the 29th floor of an office block in the Ebisu district of Tokyo. Anyone wanting a cigarette had to go to the basement, taking around 15 minutes for each trip.
At least 30 of the company’s 120 employees have already taken advantage of the perk and taken extra time off since the changes have been made. According to the company, the scheme has also encouraged at least four people to kick the habit.
“I hope to encourage employees to quit smoking through incentives rather than penalties or coercion,” Piala Inc CEO Takao Asuka told Kyodo News. The World Health Organisation reports that 18.2 percent of Japanese adults smoke (the figure is higher among males and older generations). Do you think non-smokers should get more paid leave than smokers? Or is that unfair to those who smoke? Let us know in the comments.
More info: piala.co.jp | Facebook
Piala Inc. head office is on the 29th floor, so anyone wanting a cigarette has to go to the basement, taking around 15 minutes for each trip
Image credits: Getty Images
“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”
Image credits: BEHROUZ MEHRI
“Our CEO saw the comment and agreed, so we are giving nonsmokers some extra time off to compensate”
Image credits: Pixabay
“I hope to encourage employees to quit smoking through incentives rather than penalties or coercion” Piala Inc. CEO Takao Asuka said
Image credits: Piala
At least 30 of the company’s 120 employees have already taken advantage of the perk and taken extra time off since the changes have been made
Image credits: Piala
The scheme has also encouraged at least four people to kick the habit
Image credits: Piala
Some people agree non-smoking employees should get more paid leave
Others think it’s unfair to those who smoke
What do you think?
It's their company so their rules. Don't know if there are many companies that allow people to take (smoke)breaks whenever they want to though? A lot of companies that I've worked at or know, just have set break-times (except for bathroombreaks, if you gotta go, you gotta go :P ). Everyone gets the same amount of time to eat, smoke,... etc.
Wow, I wish I worked where you work. At my office the smokers go outside every hour for 15 minutes. I tried doing the same thing and was told I had to go back to work, I was wasting time. Then at lunchtime the smokers eat their lunch, take the allotted amount of time, and then they head out for a 15 minute smoke. Really, seriously pisses me off.
Load More Replies...I love this! Back at my old job, people would constantly go on their cigarette breaks. I mean, like a 10-15 minute break every 1-2 hours, that adds up to at least 40 minutes extra of break-time, while every non-smoker "only" had an hour break a day. This is anything but fair. It's not even adding anything to the company, except for raising the risk of people getting sick. Granted, it's not easy to quit smoking, but it should also not be promoted (like you smoke, you get at least 40 minutes a day of extra break-time and such). Tolerated, yes. But give the non-smokers who don't constantly go on break some goodies.
This happened at my last job as well. One of my teammates would take 15-30 minute "smoke breaks" every 3 hours. Meanwhile, I never even got to take time to eat most days.
Load More Replies...As a former smoker of 18 years, I think this is a great idea. I quit smoking about 4.5 years ago and I can certainly say my productivity is way up. Even outside of the smoke breaks, my mind isn't constantly thinking about going to smoke. The urge to smoke just consumes your thoughts. On the contrary, I don't think extra time off of work would have persuaded me to quit. It would definitely be a motivator for some people, though. Each person has to have their own reason to want to quit.
At my company, our HR dept give each employee 2 additional 5 minutes each breaks a day, called "Fresh Air Break", for the smokers AND the not smokers. I like it, because I think it's fair (and I'm a smoker)... and if I do the math, it equals one week vacation per year, so.... it's quite similar !
I totally agree with this. And that one person that said "what about the people that spend 50 minutes every two hours taking a s**t" is so dumb. It is necessary to expel waste, but not to smoke. And plus no one takes 50 minutes every two hours to s**t
Having children is a choice. Should I receive months of paid leave, though I don't have children, because everyone else does? Maybe I'd like that time for a sabbatical, or to write a book, or to travel, or any number of 'life enrichment projects' that are meaningful to me.
You are comparing a personal habit that's unhealthy and contributes to more sick days and less productivity to the perpetuation of the species? It's strange you are okay that some workers literally work more than others day in, day out at the same place? Your idea is that if people want the same breaks as the smokers they should pick up the habit?
Load More Replies...I think it's great. Smokers don't care about what their habit does to people that don't smoke, and the effects it can have on us. I honestly think smoking should be banned everywhere but their private homes, so they can't kill us with their second-hand smoke.
I think providing an incentive to not smoke is a good thing for health reasons. Productivity I think is likely dependent on the employee, I've seen it both ways (currently work with a nightmare). Also, not sure how insurance works in Japan, but smokers tend to have more health problems so it may lower costs for the company if they don't smoke. Plus, the smoke/smell triggers issues like migraines and asthma for coworkers so their productivity may also go up. Not to mention that in the US at least, most people don't use all their vacation days anyways.
I don't smoke or drink coffee. I do get up every 30 minutes to stretch my arms, legs and neck at my desk. People would come by and ask "are you ok?" when I had my head down, stretching my neck. I got tired of answering that questions so I would find a dark room and stretch but only twice a day for 15 minutes. I got my blood flowing more often.
I used to smoke a lot , my best buddy who don't smoke always hang around with us got heart attacked because he breath in the second hand smoke from us . From Then onwards I quit smoking now I really hate the smell of cigerrate. Bestbis to quit smoking n lead a healthy life style.
I think it's excellent that they focused on rewards & not punishments. I don't feel superior to smokers, I actually feel less valued as an employee comparatively. I know companies aren't intentionally trying to make non-smokers feel less important, but it feels like it. All employees get meal breaks, & bathroom breaks, but only smokers seem to get a breather break [please excuse the term, I couldn't think of a better summary for taking-a-moment-outside]. I have luckily had one boss that realized this & started "coke" breaks for non smokers in our retail store, so non-smokers could pop outside to destress for a minute & have an uninterrupted sip of soda or what have you. Basically it's an equality among equals thing. I don't want to judge your way of unwinding or de-stressing, I'd just like an equal opportunity. As it is, I feel sometimes that smoking is the only other allowed excuse besides using a bathroom and meals; I have a manager who started smoking just so he could have breaks.
I worked in a factory on a busy production line - non smokers got pretty sick of seeing smokers get a regular smoke break, 15 mins each, twice or three times a day - and going to smoke during tool changes and breakdowns too, while non-smokers were expected to do 'housework' around the machines - and 'comfort' breaks were bitched about for anyone. Grossly unfair they should get paid time off to satisfy an addiction. Good on this company for recognising the unfairness.
There aren't a lot of people taking smoke breaks where I live b/c it's one of those hipster cities. But in California, it's mandated that for 8 hours, you get two 10-min breaks a day, plus an unpaid 30 min lunch (some companies pay you for lunch). A lot of retail places do the break thing, but this is for EVERY company, even white collar. Since my city is so health-conscious, most offices really encourage everyone to go out for a walk (it doesn't get very old in CA even in the winter) twice a day. I just moved here a few years ago, but it's been REALLY good for me to get those two short walks.
Totally agree. At my last workplace, we had two beautiful Japanese inspired gardens... that were commandeered entirely by the smokers and therefore horrible places to sit. And there's no doubt they took their fair share of breaks!! This is a great incentiviser. So wish it was more widely adopted!!!
Those people who do not take a break are not working any longer then those that do take a break. It has been shown in many reports that the brain and body needs to refresh. Lunch and breaks should always be required. Smokers actually work harder. They finish things faster to have that time to run outside.
i go in at least a half hour early every shift, usually over an hour early (i work in retail) so that when i go for a smoke i'm not using works time i'm using mine. people i work with (none of whom smoke) think i'm crazy, since they wouldn't mind. Most of them don't work very hard, spend a lot of time chatting and not really doing anything. I don't think it's about non smokers and smokers, I think it's more about good work ethic. Some people who don't smoke still don't get much done and vice versa.
I use to smoke and yes I would take my ASSIGNED breaks each day. Just like the law allows. 10 mins in the am, 1/2 hr for lunch then 10 mins. in the afternoon. I was very proficient at my job too. Others who did not take these breaks tended to be more stressed out than I. Now if you abuse your breaks and take longer than you are suppose to, then that becomes a problem, but that doesnt mean it's always because of smoking. Some people are just plain lazy and or flakes.
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I think that this a great idea. If it were to happen in Michigan, I believe that there would have to be an average for the amount of time take by the smokers per year to properly come up with the right amount of days. I just calculated that the person at this company works 51 weeks of the year for 5 days. I only put in one 15 minute break for each day(it is more likely they will take multiple breaks), and I came up with the amount of 3,825 minutes spent smoking throughout 255 days. This means that if a person only takes one smoking break, they spend about 2.5 days each year smoking. So in Michigan, we would have to record the average smoking break, take an average and then figure out the amount of days that could be given to the employees. This would not be discrimination against smokers either, as the habit is something that is counter-productive, and has been proven to be bad for health as well.
If they are being paid to take a smoke break while a non-smoker isn't then yes it's fair. The non-smokers who take snack or coffee breaks are sal so being paid but skomers still take these kinds of breaks as well. The non-smokers our losing out when skomers are allowed the extra time on breaks... if the non-smokers could also take a "fresh-air" break that was really like getting fresh air and not around the smokers then yeah it's unfair
everybody at my job site gets the same amount of breaks whether they smoke or not. We have to put in a code for when we go to break and when we go to lunch etc. So this would not work here. Every 2 hours a 15 minute break except for our lunch which is unpaid at 1/2 hr or 45 minutes
Great idea. We have only one smoker on our job, our technician. Most of the time we cannot find her - she is having break ouside and smoking. Really, she is paid for full time job but does only a half. To pay a days off for other employees is actually the same.
I once got criticised for being on Facebook. Fair enough point, but then smokers can disappear for 2hours out of the day without a word being said.
All of my jobs there were no extra breaks for smokers. We all got our 2 10 min and a lunch or whatever and you made it work
As a former smoker, hm. I think it depends on whether you're salaried or per hour and what the break policies are. At my last company (I worked in finance in nyc) people were on salary so there aren't really rules about breaks. If you get your work done well and are generally reachable/functional during normal office hours, they don't micromanage your schedule. Smoke breaks I'd keep an eye on my blackberry/phone for emergencies and sometimes I'd still be working (via email) even though I was outside. I also stayed later than most and didn't dilly dally and tbh there were a few people w similar position/rank whose work quality was so bad it shocked/infuriated me that we had same title/probably similar pay. Most mothers worked from home once/wk. Some ppl fit 60 min gym classea in at lunch. Smokers had to pay higher health insurance premiums. I think this policy may be fair in hrly pay situations where people are taking free smoke breaks, but why not just charge ppl for xtra break time?
Where do these people work that they can just take breaks? I am smoker, I take 4 breaks a day which is 60 min. I eat lunch at my desk. Everyone is allowed 30 min lunch and 2 15 min breaks. I just split mine to go smoke.
Smoking is a choice, no don't try to tell me its a diease,if you want the 6 extra days off then quit smoke.
Not the best solution - as i agree with one of the reactions above. Beeing a non-smoker and a non-coffee drinker - i would say coffee leaves are much longer overall.. And those numbers are probably higher than 18,2 %... I never thought about getting more pauses for not doing so... For me its pointing fingers - "its giving problems" as suggestion... Problems with someone sulking. That sounds more like a problem to me.
I''d stay in the basement all day. Okay, in my time you could smoke in your own room and I did more and better work while smoking.
It's their company so their rules. Don't know if there are many companies that allow people to take (smoke)breaks whenever they want to though? A lot of companies that I've worked at or know, just have set break-times (except for bathroombreaks, if you gotta go, you gotta go :P ). Everyone gets the same amount of time to eat, smoke,... etc.
Wow, I wish I worked where you work. At my office the smokers go outside every hour for 15 minutes. I tried doing the same thing and was told I had to go back to work, I was wasting time. Then at lunchtime the smokers eat their lunch, take the allotted amount of time, and then they head out for a 15 minute smoke. Really, seriously pisses me off.
Load More Replies...I love this! Back at my old job, people would constantly go on their cigarette breaks. I mean, like a 10-15 minute break every 1-2 hours, that adds up to at least 40 minutes extra of break-time, while every non-smoker "only" had an hour break a day. This is anything but fair. It's not even adding anything to the company, except for raising the risk of people getting sick. Granted, it's not easy to quit smoking, but it should also not be promoted (like you smoke, you get at least 40 minutes a day of extra break-time and such). Tolerated, yes. But give the non-smokers who don't constantly go on break some goodies.
This happened at my last job as well. One of my teammates would take 15-30 minute "smoke breaks" every 3 hours. Meanwhile, I never even got to take time to eat most days.
Load More Replies...As a former smoker of 18 years, I think this is a great idea. I quit smoking about 4.5 years ago and I can certainly say my productivity is way up. Even outside of the smoke breaks, my mind isn't constantly thinking about going to smoke. The urge to smoke just consumes your thoughts. On the contrary, I don't think extra time off of work would have persuaded me to quit. It would definitely be a motivator for some people, though. Each person has to have their own reason to want to quit.
At my company, our HR dept give each employee 2 additional 5 minutes each breaks a day, called "Fresh Air Break", for the smokers AND the not smokers. I like it, because I think it's fair (and I'm a smoker)... and if I do the math, it equals one week vacation per year, so.... it's quite similar !
I totally agree with this. And that one person that said "what about the people that spend 50 minutes every two hours taking a s**t" is so dumb. It is necessary to expel waste, but not to smoke. And plus no one takes 50 minutes every two hours to s**t
Having children is a choice. Should I receive months of paid leave, though I don't have children, because everyone else does? Maybe I'd like that time for a sabbatical, or to write a book, or to travel, or any number of 'life enrichment projects' that are meaningful to me.
You are comparing a personal habit that's unhealthy and contributes to more sick days and less productivity to the perpetuation of the species? It's strange you are okay that some workers literally work more than others day in, day out at the same place? Your idea is that if people want the same breaks as the smokers they should pick up the habit?
Load More Replies...I think it's great. Smokers don't care about what their habit does to people that don't smoke, and the effects it can have on us. I honestly think smoking should be banned everywhere but their private homes, so they can't kill us with their second-hand smoke.
I think providing an incentive to not smoke is a good thing for health reasons. Productivity I think is likely dependent on the employee, I've seen it both ways (currently work with a nightmare). Also, not sure how insurance works in Japan, but smokers tend to have more health problems so it may lower costs for the company if they don't smoke. Plus, the smoke/smell triggers issues like migraines and asthma for coworkers so their productivity may also go up. Not to mention that in the US at least, most people don't use all their vacation days anyways.
I don't smoke or drink coffee. I do get up every 30 minutes to stretch my arms, legs and neck at my desk. People would come by and ask "are you ok?" when I had my head down, stretching my neck. I got tired of answering that questions so I would find a dark room and stretch but only twice a day for 15 minutes. I got my blood flowing more often.
I used to smoke a lot , my best buddy who don't smoke always hang around with us got heart attacked because he breath in the second hand smoke from us . From Then onwards I quit smoking now I really hate the smell of cigerrate. Bestbis to quit smoking n lead a healthy life style.
I think it's excellent that they focused on rewards & not punishments. I don't feel superior to smokers, I actually feel less valued as an employee comparatively. I know companies aren't intentionally trying to make non-smokers feel less important, but it feels like it. All employees get meal breaks, & bathroom breaks, but only smokers seem to get a breather break [please excuse the term, I couldn't think of a better summary for taking-a-moment-outside]. I have luckily had one boss that realized this & started "coke" breaks for non smokers in our retail store, so non-smokers could pop outside to destress for a minute & have an uninterrupted sip of soda or what have you. Basically it's an equality among equals thing. I don't want to judge your way of unwinding or de-stressing, I'd just like an equal opportunity. As it is, I feel sometimes that smoking is the only other allowed excuse besides using a bathroom and meals; I have a manager who started smoking just so he could have breaks.
I worked in a factory on a busy production line - non smokers got pretty sick of seeing smokers get a regular smoke break, 15 mins each, twice or three times a day - and going to smoke during tool changes and breakdowns too, while non-smokers were expected to do 'housework' around the machines - and 'comfort' breaks were bitched about for anyone. Grossly unfair they should get paid time off to satisfy an addiction. Good on this company for recognising the unfairness.
There aren't a lot of people taking smoke breaks where I live b/c it's one of those hipster cities. But in California, it's mandated that for 8 hours, you get two 10-min breaks a day, plus an unpaid 30 min lunch (some companies pay you for lunch). A lot of retail places do the break thing, but this is for EVERY company, even white collar. Since my city is so health-conscious, most offices really encourage everyone to go out for a walk (it doesn't get very old in CA even in the winter) twice a day. I just moved here a few years ago, but it's been REALLY good for me to get those two short walks.
Totally agree. At my last workplace, we had two beautiful Japanese inspired gardens... that were commandeered entirely by the smokers and therefore horrible places to sit. And there's no doubt they took their fair share of breaks!! This is a great incentiviser. So wish it was more widely adopted!!!
Those people who do not take a break are not working any longer then those that do take a break. It has been shown in many reports that the brain and body needs to refresh. Lunch and breaks should always be required. Smokers actually work harder. They finish things faster to have that time to run outside.
i go in at least a half hour early every shift, usually over an hour early (i work in retail) so that when i go for a smoke i'm not using works time i'm using mine. people i work with (none of whom smoke) think i'm crazy, since they wouldn't mind. Most of them don't work very hard, spend a lot of time chatting and not really doing anything. I don't think it's about non smokers and smokers, I think it's more about good work ethic. Some people who don't smoke still don't get much done and vice versa.
I use to smoke and yes I would take my ASSIGNED breaks each day. Just like the law allows. 10 mins in the am, 1/2 hr for lunch then 10 mins. in the afternoon. I was very proficient at my job too. Others who did not take these breaks tended to be more stressed out than I. Now if you abuse your breaks and take longer than you are suppose to, then that becomes a problem, but that doesnt mean it's always because of smoking. Some people are just plain lazy and or flakes.
If you need a loan to solve your financial problems or start a business, we offer all types of loans at a 4% interest rate. If you are interested in a loan, contact us today via e-mail at: gillardbmconnell@gmail.com for more information about our loan program.
I think that this a great idea. If it were to happen in Michigan, I believe that there would have to be an average for the amount of time take by the smokers per year to properly come up with the right amount of days. I just calculated that the person at this company works 51 weeks of the year for 5 days. I only put in one 15 minute break for each day(it is more likely they will take multiple breaks), and I came up with the amount of 3,825 minutes spent smoking throughout 255 days. This means that if a person only takes one smoking break, they spend about 2.5 days each year smoking. So in Michigan, we would have to record the average smoking break, take an average and then figure out the amount of days that could be given to the employees. This would not be discrimination against smokers either, as the habit is something that is counter-productive, and has been proven to be bad for health as well.
If they are being paid to take a smoke break while a non-smoker isn't then yes it's fair. The non-smokers who take snack or coffee breaks are sal so being paid but skomers still take these kinds of breaks as well. The non-smokers our losing out when skomers are allowed the extra time on breaks... if the non-smokers could also take a "fresh-air" break that was really like getting fresh air and not around the smokers then yeah it's unfair
everybody at my job site gets the same amount of breaks whether they smoke or not. We have to put in a code for when we go to break and when we go to lunch etc. So this would not work here. Every 2 hours a 15 minute break except for our lunch which is unpaid at 1/2 hr or 45 minutes
Great idea. We have only one smoker on our job, our technician. Most of the time we cannot find her - she is having break ouside and smoking. Really, she is paid for full time job but does only a half. To pay a days off for other employees is actually the same.
I once got criticised for being on Facebook. Fair enough point, but then smokers can disappear for 2hours out of the day without a word being said.
All of my jobs there were no extra breaks for smokers. We all got our 2 10 min and a lunch or whatever and you made it work
As a former smoker, hm. I think it depends on whether you're salaried or per hour and what the break policies are. At my last company (I worked in finance in nyc) people were on salary so there aren't really rules about breaks. If you get your work done well and are generally reachable/functional during normal office hours, they don't micromanage your schedule. Smoke breaks I'd keep an eye on my blackberry/phone for emergencies and sometimes I'd still be working (via email) even though I was outside. I also stayed later than most and didn't dilly dally and tbh there were a few people w similar position/rank whose work quality was so bad it shocked/infuriated me that we had same title/probably similar pay. Most mothers worked from home once/wk. Some ppl fit 60 min gym classea in at lunch. Smokers had to pay higher health insurance premiums. I think this policy may be fair in hrly pay situations where people are taking free smoke breaks, but why not just charge ppl for xtra break time?
Where do these people work that they can just take breaks? I am smoker, I take 4 breaks a day which is 60 min. I eat lunch at my desk. Everyone is allowed 30 min lunch and 2 15 min breaks. I just split mine to go smoke.
Smoking is a choice, no don't try to tell me its a diease,if you want the 6 extra days off then quit smoke.
Not the best solution - as i agree with one of the reactions above. Beeing a non-smoker and a non-coffee drinker - i would say coffee leaves are much longer overall.. And those numbers are probably higher than 18,2 %... I never thought about getting more pauses for not doing so... For me its pointing fingers - "its giving problems" as suggestion... Problems with someone sulking. That sounds more like a problem to me.
I''d stay in the basement all day. Okay, in my time you could smoke in your own room and I did more and better work while smoking.
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