Gamer Fired for taking "Pokemon Breaks."

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Zhadramekel

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Apr 18, 2010
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Just for the Pokemon break side of the issue: my head says 'that's not really legit' but my heart is saying 'good on ya mate'
 

Something Amyss

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Fappy said:
Your employers monitor your Facebook? Oh man I am so sorry D:
I meant in general. This is not without precedent. I am self-employed/a freelancer (I freelance for papers and I play tech support to people who can't fix their own stuff), so I have a certain aversion to posting controversial stuff on the web tying back to me, but I can't directly be fired. However, other people have. The funny thing about this is as I'm typing this I get a text about a Marine who's being discharged for things he said on his Facebook page. Of course, they're a little more specific (He's critical of Obama), but it's close enough for jazz.

Das Boot said:
Actually getting fired for a photo on your facebook is against labor laws in every civilized country out there. Its the same as they cant say they didnt hire you because of whats on your facebook.
Yeah, but I live in America.
 

Fappy

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Zachary Amaranth said:
Fappy said:
Your employers monitor your Facebook? Oh man I am so sorry D:
I meant in general. This is not without precedent. I am self-employed/a freelancer (I freelance for papers and I play tech support to people who can't fix their own stuff), so I have a certain aversion to posting controversial stuff on the web tying back to me, but I can't directly be fired. However, other people have. The funny thing about this is as I'm typing this I get a text about a Marine who's being discharged for things he said on his Facebook page. Of course, they're a little more specific (He's critical of Obama), but it's close enough for jazz.

Das Boot said:
Actually getting fired for a photo on your facebook is against labor laws in every civilized country out there. Its the same as they cant say they didnt hire you because of whats on your facebook.
Yeah, but I live in America.
Ah okay, that makes a lot more sense.
 

Dogstile

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Jan 17, 2009
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EClaris said:
1)well, as others have said, it's an addiction. Though I've never been addicted to cigarettes, I have friends who are. Sometimes, people do need their fix or they will experience negative symptoms and not perform their job at peak capacity. It's just a medical condition who's influences on performance are being minimized.

2)I wouldn't be surprised really. And I think that a lot of people here would get upset over the fact he got fired and do some false equivalency arguments tying to twist it so the smokers got fired. But who knows?

Fawxy said:
Scarim Coral said:
Sorry but I against your descision to use the "smoke" break just to play Pokemon. People who smoke are allow to have extra time since being a smoker is being addicted to it. Sort of getting their fix per say. Likewise I do not fully know if a smoker can carry on with their job (or in a environment where they cannot smoke) without having a cig for a long period of time.
Beside what can you do in Pokemon for less than 5 minutes? A random encounter battle?
So smokers should be given extra rights because they made the conscious decision to become addicted to a cancerous plant. Cool.
Oh look, the attitude I was talking about. How surprising
What attitude? I used to smoke, it was my own damn fault for smoking, why the hell do I deserve extra breaks?

At the very least other employees should be able to come out and chill with me while I smoke. That way everybody wins. You know, except whereever i'm working, which is why they sanction breaks at specific times anyway.
 

Shadu

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Perosnally, when I'm at work, I'm in "work mode." I don't want to take even five minutes to play a video game unless I happen to be on my lunch break or my fifteen minute break, given that I work long enough for either. But generally, I'd rather read a book anyway. Easier to pick up and stop, in my opinion. And if my book is stolen, it's at most twenty bucks to replace. If my DS is stolen, it's about $100 to replace the system and the game, given I want to by the system used.

But should it be allowed? No, I don't think so. Smokers have a physical need that make it extremely difficult for them to work effectively without taking a smoke break, and honestly, I'd rather them take five minutes to go outside and smoke than stay in and smoke. Is it completely fair? Well, no, of course not, but then, life's not fair, is it?

If it really bothers someone that much, take a bathroom break and pull out your DS there. That's how I got my "smoke breaks." I usually read whatever magazine was in the bathroom (when I worked at a place that had those).
 

CheckD3

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Getting fired for that is crap. It may be an addictive habit, but it was their choice to start smoking, and their choice to continue doing it. My friend in the marines started smoking just to be able to have breaks, because only smokers were able to get them. So to get a break from work, we have to start smoking? That's bullshit, and there are people I work with who can go 8 hours dealing with retarded customers and not take a smoke break, so again, the choice to not take it and tough it out is there.

Asking for it, and doing it in the way mentioned isn't attitudinal or anything, it's politely asking for fair treatment, and firing someone because of it is unethical. Demanding the break, showing up like you deserve to do this and all that, that's having an attitude, but asking for a short break to play pokemon because you don't want to smoke to get those extra 15 minutes of your own stress release, that shouldn't be a fireable offense.

That's what smoking is, a stress release, and so are video games. Asking for a break for stress release, that's perfectly normal
 

Auron225

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deathzero021 said:
[quote
Auron225 said:
deathzero021 said:
Deathleaper said:
deathzero021 said:
if we go in this damn direction, where do you draw the line? are we gonna start have heroine breaks?
Heroine breaks? Female employees taking 5 minutes to fly around and fight crime?
heh meant "heroin"
When its illegal? Anyone else vote we draw the line there?
Alcohol was once illegal, so do you really think it's that far out there that heroin or any other recreational drug could become legal and get a break of it's own in the work place? but than you would argue about the mind-altering effects of said drugs, well doesn't Cigarettes alter the mind as well? maybe not as severely but either way, it's a legal drug that for some reason is so accepted in the workplace that addicts get their own special treatment for being addicts.

so i say, why can't we get some equality within the workplace - we should all get an equal break and i really don't care what your addicted to, there should be NO exceptions.
Oh no, don't get me wrong - I completely agree that everyone should get the same amount of breaks regardless of whether you smoke or not (see my other post). But it seems we're getting into a whole other debate here by discussing whether heroin should be legalized =P