to be annoyed at those who have cigarette breaks every hour?

[Naime]

I'm sat working my arse off in my horrible air conditioned office. I would love to go outside every hour for 10/15 mins to get some fresh air, but I simply wouldn't get away with saying 'I'm going for a walk, see you in 10!'

AIBU to think that people should smoke on their own time? I have people in my office who literally must spend close to 1.5/2 hours outside having cigarette breaks between 8 and 5. It's just accepted that it's fine for people to be paid to have a cigarette and be paid for it, but if I wanted to take a mental break outside for 10 mins every hour I would be pulled up on it.

Hmmph...

I'd be annoyed too OP. This is a problem in many places of work, and it's unfair on the non-smokers who can, depending on the kind of job it is, be left to pick up the slack whilst the smoker is 'on a fag break'.

Years ago when I was a student, I worked in a very busy pub to sub my student loan. The two people I shared shifts with both smoked and would take 'fag breaks' together at the end of the bar (this was before the smoking ban) or outside hourly. This left me on my own to work the bar...it sucked! They would be gone for a good 15-20 minutes each time. I added up that in one 7 hour shift, they could be smoking ('on a break'!) for 90 minutes or more! The landlord didn't care either...he was a smoker and usually joined them! So I 'took up smoking' and took the exact same breaks as them, minute for minute...when they came back from their 'break' I'd say 'oh glad you're back, that's 15 minutes for me then...I'm going for 'fag break'. I'd just hold an unlighted cigarette and have a break. Nobody challenged me 🤷‍♀️

Childish, I know, but fair!

What used to annoy me about the smokers at work wasn’t that they took breaks but that they would tell everyone how late they stayed in the office. Yes, because you spent about an hour a day outside smoking.

I hated it when my manager came back from a fag break as she would come back and whisper something that she wanted doing absolutely reeking of smoke. Vile stench, used to make me heave.

Chaffy I did same as you.......worked in a kitchen,staff constantly going out the back door to sit on the wall and have a cig.They could never go one at a time.

If they had already been out once then were heading out again I would sorry its my turn for a break next.....but we dont have breaks working here...I said well you lot do so I am too

It just does my head in a bit to be honest. Mostly because I'm taking all their calls and picking up their work when they're out of the office, partly because it's the managers doing it too so I can't exactly complain, and partly because I have a good work ethic and can't just bring myself to think along the lines of 'well they're taking 15 mins an hour to smoke so I'll do the same'

Maybe IABU though. Who knows!

There was an office manager at a job I had years ago who got incensed over smokers going out for a smoke. But not incensed about silly whole office tea rounds which would take up a good 15 minutes and involve 4 or 5 staff, or about people (sensibly) using the same amount of time as a cig break in having a walk round the office away from their screen, or people popping to the shop for biscuits, etc etc etc. It really was the fact that it was smoking that got to her.

At my office, no one polices what you are doing as long as your work is done, because they treat us like adults. I smoke, sometimes hourly, sometimes much less, depending on what I need to get done. When I am outside, I am generally either speaking to someone about work, or thinking through the next task, so not entirely unproductive. My role requires that we reflect on our practice, so I smoke while I’m doing it. I don’t drink tea or coffee, so don’t stop for drink breaks, and I don’t resent those who do.

At my office, no one polices what you are doing as long as your work is done, because they treat us like adults.

As it should be. I like to think of myself as a manager, not a Gestapo officer. I also happen to believe that any job that requires the slightest bit of intelligence is best performed by people at the very least capable of managing their own tome at their desks.

@AltogetherAndrews I don't believe in policing what everyone is doing and I have no issue with people going for reasonable breaks. I do however get annoyed at people spending a quarter of their working day on a fag break when their job consists of answering phones and others have to pick up their work when they are gone. They often go out 6 people at a time leaving one or two of us left in the office answering phone calls for 8 people. I don't see how anyone can justify a 15 minute fag break every hour to be honest.

@DilianaDilemma however the work is being done, by the people left in the office who don't smoke! I honestly can't believe people think it's ok to spend a quarter of your day out smoking! I think I might just have to accept that I'm missing something here and ABU

@cleanasawhistle it's funny isn't it, how quick the smokers are to notice when the non-smoker starts to take the same amount of 'breaks' 😂 I know I was being pedantic, but it was really unfair how much extra work I was having to do because of these 'breaks'. I honestly don't think it ever occurred to them how much time they were taking until I started doing the exact same.

At 24 weeks pregnant, I feel like I would genuinely benefit from a quick 5/10 minute walk every so often and it would keep me healthier and make me more productive

There's no reason you can't ask for this, and mention it's a reasonable adjustment according to the Equality Act. If they refuse they'd be skating on thin ice, being pg is a protected characteristic, they are allowing smokers to have unhealthy breaks so they should treat you equally to them.

OP you are NOT being unreasonable...at all. I know you say that you don't want to do the same thing, but you are enabling them to take the piss if you don't. Just start logging the so-called 'breaks' and then ask that time as 'break time in lieu of not smoking' 🤷‍♀️. Do it for a week. Explain to managers why you are logging this and give them the data, saying you'd like equality in the workplace so this is the amount of 'non-smoking lieu time' you're owed 😂

Explain to managers why you are logging this and give them the data, saying you'd like equality in the workplace so this is the amount of 'non-smoking lieu time' you're owed

Or be like a grown-up and just go for a walk every so often.......

I don't smoke & still make a point of getting away from the desk....