Gamer Fired for taking "Pokemon Breaks."

[FallenTraveler]

Well, at least in my state, it is legally required for employers to give employees at least a 15 minute break every 3 hours or so. Smoke breaks add up to count as this and other employees are generally allowed to go off and have their own break.

I think this is justifiable in a way. I can't judge levels of sarcasm and whatnot, but it seems alright.

Pokemon isn't a physical addiction, so I feel he was not justified in his desire for a Pokemon break.

I totally understand your point, but nicotine addiction is completely optional. If this were some other physical restriction like... I'm not sure, but let's say heart problems that require you to rest for a few minutes, it would make sense, but in the case of nicotine it's entirely up to the addict whether or not they start.

 

[Darkmantle]

It's been my experience that there are two kinds of smokers in the workplace. There's the smokers who also happen to be bludgers, who will use their habit to swindle as much extra break time out of the company as they can; and there are also the smokers who are normal workers who have a smoke during their usual smoko/lunch time. For example, I happen to work at a munitions factory where smoking (or any means of procuring a naked flame) is strictly prohibited on site, so effectively the smokers can't smoke while they're at work. But the guys who do smoke seem to get by just fine with only taking a smoke break during their lunch.

I don't see why this principle wouldn't apply to gamers as well. If you want to play games then do it on your lunch break (or even wait till you get home). In my experience managers don't like smart-arses, so if you're going to take breaks without asking to play Pokemon then you're going to come into conflict with your boss, irrespective of what the smokers are doing.

I think the part your missing is that the smokers already take extra breaks to smoke. It's not like he just started with the game boy thing

 

[feeback06]

My job doesn't offer smoke breaks. The only time you can smoke is during your normal break time.

 

[Darkmantle]

My job doesn't offer smoke breaks. The only time you can smoke is during your normal break time.

This is how it should be, plain and simple

 

[VondeVon]

I've run a couple of small businesses and in general I just don't ever hire smokers.

 

[ccggenius12]

On the one hand, I don't see why anyone bothers posting a topic that merits any actual discussion, as the two sides inevitably end up talking past each other within the first couple posts.
On the other hand, I don't believe that smokers should be given additional time to take a break than those who don't when they are working a job that pays an hourly wage. They can re-purpose existing time, but there should be no benefit to it, as it is not something that should be encouraged. If they want additional time to smoke, they better be prepared to clock out for the duration of that break, because they sure as hell aren't working.
If someone is earning a salary, then their pay isn't based on how much time they actually spend working, it's based on them being able to get the job done. Under these circumstances, if you can get your work done in five minutes, feel free to spend the remaining 7 hours 55 minutes at the business doing whatever the hell you want, as long as it doesn't detract from others ability to complete their jobs, and does not violate the terms of the contract you signed when you agreed to work there.

 

[Goofguy]

This all comes down to a question of perception. I've had people give me a hard time because I was standing out in the smoking area with some of my peers and I wasn't smoking. So I get called a 'slacker' because I'm not doing anything but the smokers act as though they are occupied. When you confront some about it, they act indignant about it, like it's their right and it's part of the work routine. They sincerely believed that even though clearly none of us were working at that moment, I was somehow doing less than them because they were 'busy' smoking.

I even approximated the amount of time my co-workers were wasting smoking and it came to about 5.8 days a year. So they basically get an extra week off every year over the non-smokers. Sure, they'll chalk up to a necessity but I only consider it as such if they've tried every means to quit smoking before and none of them worked.

Smoking is an interesting phenomenon. You could walk right by some dude smoking while standing on the sidewalk and not pay any attention to him. You walk right by that same guy who's just standing there with his hands in his pockets looking around and you'll think he's a friggin weirdo.

 

[Therumancer]

Jeff Barnes, an employee at a McDonalds in Augusta, GA was recently fired from his job. The circumstances themselves are unclear, but from what sources gather, Mr. Barnes spent a week recording the times each day that his fellow employees were allowed to take for smoke breaks while still taking a lunch break.

At the end of the week, he averaged it out that employees that smoke were getting roughly three five minute breaks a day just to smoke a cigarette, and decided to take a few breaks of his own to bring out his DS and play Pokemon.

After being confronted about this by his boss, he explained his point to her that allowing employees to take extra breaks just because they smoke was unfair, and that he should be allowed his own "smoke" breaks to come outside and play video games, so long as they were kept about the same length of an average cigarette.

Mr. Barnes was fired for his behavior and his attitude.

Now before anyone says anything, lemme be clear. The story you've just read is completely fictional. (mildly based off an experience from my own life, but I didn't get fired, just kinda yelled at and got called a smart-ass...)

But to me it raises a couple questions

1. Do you think people should be allowed to take breaks like this? Is it unfair that just because someone smokes, they get to take extra breaks? Even if they're only for a couple minutes at a time.
2. Given some of the news stories we've seen on this site, would you actually be surprised if a story like this popped up for real, and what do you think the general reaction would be?

It's a real issue minus the whole "video gaming" thing. The end result is that in a business where management or supervision has smokers, your going to see smokers given special treatment to smoke. You'll also notice a lot of the "backroom" business being done on smoke breaks in terms of favortism, planning backstabbing, and similar things. One thing you might notice is that once you have smokers in positions of management and supervision soon just about all of the positions under them will be filled by the same, with a lot of that being based on socialization when everyone is hanging out smoking and joking on breaks.since that's one time supervisors and employees tend to directly fratrenize "off the record" while still on the job.

The result being that a non-smoker who complains about it gets laughed out of the ballpark, no matter what point they make. Official complaints tend to lead to the person getting fired, but typically it involves going to your paid rat running something like the security monitor room to pay attention to the breaks taken by the person making the complains specifically and log their times and provide video records (when normally close attention won't be paid). Coming back a minute late or whatever is no big deal.... unless your supervisor or manager has it in for you to begin with.

Basically if a business has a policy allowing for smoke breaks, it means people in positions of authority are smoking to get that policy, and that means complaining about it or trying to make a point is great way to get fired. Is it fair? No, it is not, it amounts to special treatment. Can you do anything about it in a practical sense? Nope, you can't.

The absolute "best" case you can hope for is that if you have upper top-tier management that doesn't smoke and an oppertunity to approach them in a way that wouldn't be seen as violating the chain of command (ie you can't sneak them out). If you mention/prove the smoke breaks you can get them to shut them down (they will not grant the same to everyone) because it's probably backdoored into policy anyway, but that tends to wind up with everyone hating you as an actual rat as opposed to someone who is an official rat (ie they understand your in a position where you have to do jobs your assigned to watch and record other employees at times, which is rat-like, but more a matter of not covering for people to hold your own job, basically nobody expects an official rat to get fired by refusing to follow a manager's order to log someone's breaks for example... an important distinction in many places). Ratting out the smoke breaks means everyone, even the non-smokers are likely to want you gone, not to mention lower management who won't like you going over their head even if you didn't actually jump chain of command. It's one of those things where a few months later you'll probably be set up and fired, and then a few months after that the smokers will just backdoor the breaks back in anyway.

 

[Don Savik]

So what a lot of you are saying is that if I'm addicted to something that I subjected myself to VOLUNTARILY I can take time off work to deal with it? You know how stupid that sounds?

 

[Little2Raph]

I think the part your missing is that the smokers already take extra breaks to smoke. It's not like he just started with the game boy thing

I understand that it was the smokers who were already taking extra breaks. If I understand correctly he's seen the smokers taking extra breaks and just assumed it's okay for him to do so as well, without consulting his supervisor or manager first. No company I've ever worked for has considered this an acceptable attitude. My point is that who did what first is irrelevant. Smoker or gamer, when we're at work we're supposed to do our jobs, not indulge in our habits or our hobbies. If I start taking extra breaks to play games just because I see other people take extra breaks to smoke, then all that proves is that I'm just as unprofessional as they are.

 

[GoaThief]

Yea we're just going to have to agree to disagree. I just don't see it as a chemical addiction what so ever.

Well just know that you are absolutely and provably incorrect, smoking is physically addictive in addition to mentally. I suppose you also think the earth was created by an omnipotent being in seven days too?

Hilariously, the only places on the internet I could find that supported your incorrect argument was some sketchy pro-Israel propaganda site and "ScientificPsychic.com".

 

[GoaThief]

/snip

Your religious stance matters not a jot, merely the point that you are using the same flawed logic and reasoning creationists are.

Anyway, don't waste that finger time. It's ok to admit you were wrong, even if it's just to yourself.

 

[Strazdas]

Jeff Barnes, an employee at a McDonalds in Augusta, GA was recently fired from his job. The circumstances themselves are unclear, but from what sources gather, Mr. Barnes spent a week recording the times each day that his fellow employees were allowed to take for smoke breaks while still taking a lunch break.

At the end of the week, he averaged it out that employees that smoke were getting roughly three five minute breaks a day just to smoke a cigarette, and decided to take a few breaks of his own to bring out his DS and play Pokemon.

After being confronted about this by his boss, he explained his point to her that allowing employees to take extra breaks just because they smoke was unfair, and that he should be allowed his own "smoke" breaks to come outside and play video games, so long as they were kept about the same length of an average cigarette.

Mr. Barnes was fired for his behavior and his attitude.

Now before anyone says anything, lemme be clear. The story you've just read is completely fictional. (mildly based off an experience from my own life, but I didn't get fired, just kinda yelled at and got called a smart-ass...)

But to me it raises a couple questions

1. Do you think people should be allowed to take breaks like this? Is it unfair that just because someone smokes, they get to take extra breaks? Even if they're only for a couple minutes at a time.
2. Given some of the news stories we've seen on this site, would you actually be surprised if a story like this popped up for real, and what do you think the general reaction would be?

1. I think people should not be allowed to take smoke breaks. cant live without smoking every hour? your problem.
2. Such stories are reality to some. Ive seen people fired for "being in the toilet too long".

 

[GoaThief]

/strange waste of finger movement

You're still here? That "evidence" you linked to from here [http://www.unlearnsmoking.com/index.htm]? Quackery, pure and simple. Go and get some from a recognised body on health or similar, aye?

Just keep arguing from ignorance and then accusing other people of lacking critical thinking

Say what?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotine
http://www.jneurosci.org/content/25/5/1103.full.pdf
http://ehealthmd.com/content/what-smoking-addiction
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000953.htm
http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/E/22017/24546/357075.html?d=dmtContent
http://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJM198811173192005
http://www.ajpmonline.org/article/S0749-3797(03)00198-3/abstract
http://www.pep-web.org/document.php?id=CJP.011.0135A

Of course, you're now going to go and contradict science with your pro skeeelz. You've already been proven wrong and a liar, smoking IS physically addictive and you keep replying after you say you won't.

 

[GoaThief]

I didn't say it was evidence, I said you didn't look far because you claimed there was one place that said the same thing and it was an Israeli propaganda site. Keep up with your own arguments man.

You probably use a different localised version of Google to me and probably used different wording, which provides different results. Either way, the point was and still is these places are a minority, you understand that concept, yes? Just as creationism-promoting websites are a minority.

I also never said I wouldn't reply, I said it's not worth wasting finger movements on you, which I still maintain to be the case.

Define "wasting finger movements" - are we not talking about typing? A reply in other words? If that's the case, then yes you are still "wasting finger movements" when you explicitly said you wouldn't. That makes you a *drumroll* liar.

And when did I lie or get proven wrong exactly?

See above.

I already told you I'd go and look up some of the actual studies, I just can't really do that right now without access to summon. Well I could, but it would take far too much effort.

Or you could stop making weak excuses and just look at the links I've provided for you which required such amazingly specialist resources and techniques such as Google and uh, copy/paste.

Smoking is psychologically and physically addictive. Scientific fact.

Also notice how you completely took the civility out of an entire thread.

No, I'm just blunt as I have little time and respect for wilful ignorance. Insulting, I am not.

 

[tharglet]

Wouldn't be surprised if it happened - there's plenty of shitty employers out there.

As for my experience - I don't smoke or whatever, but I've had the opposite experience... being told I can have a no-smoking smoke break if I want to. Then again I work with computers, so breaks are prolly a good idea .

Ofc, if you're not getting the breaks, there's a right way and a wrong way to approach it. If you're being "clever" to justify having the odd 5-min break through the day, then people aren't going to want to honour your request. There's plenty of valid reasons to justify it, without having to resort to "but heee gets it".

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

They get five minute breaks, we don't smell.

Win/win.

(But in all seriousness, I'm pretty sure that over here - UK - you're entitled to a lunch break and then two 15-minute breaks, so you shouldn't need any extra time for smoking. And if you do, well, tough.)

That is what we get at my workplace (in the US), so the laws might be similar. And if you can't get through an 8 hour work day with a total of 1 hour in breaks to smoke, you have addiction problems.

 

[keinechance]

I already told you I'd go and look up some of the actual studies, I just can't really do that right now without access to summon. Well I could, but it would take far too much effort.

Or you could stop making weak excuses and just look at the links I've provided for you which required such amazingly specialist resources and techniques such as Google and uh, copy/paste.

Smoking is psychologically and physically addictive. Scientific fact.

He already said that he acknowledges that there are chemicaly addictiv substances like nicotine, but he doesn't believe that there is enough nicotine in cigarettes to trigger the chemical addiction:

Yes, and they're two very different things.

Nicotine is a very small part cigarettes. If you took it in a pure form then yes, it would be highly addictive. Just like if you consumed pure caffeine that would be monstrously addictive.

A person who smokes is not chemically dependent on nicotine, they're psychologically dependent on the act of smoking.

 

[Cridhe]

This thread is soaking wet with tears and smells of baby food.

OP: Don't be that guy.

 

[Azure-Supernova]

This wasn't a problem in my previous job. I worked 10 hours a day and we had two breaks, the first being 30 minutes the second being 15. It was on a factory floor, so there was no nipping outside for a quick fag. If you wanted to smoke you had to squeeze it in next to your lunch. A lot of people I worked with ended up quitting smoking within a month or so. I guess it's hard to notice your nicotine withdrawl when you're already being drummed to meet high standards of box packing.

In short I'm a non-smoker. I understand that there are a lot of reasons why someone might start smoking, as well as how hard it is to stop, but I don't think that they should get special treatment. At my first job everyone was allowed 20 minutes of personal time on top of their lunch, this was a universal policy and it was this 20 minutes in which you had to smoke, get your tea/coffee and snacks etc.