SMOKING: THE OFFICE PARTITION
By the summer of 2007 England is set to be virtually smoke-free, with a blanket
ban on smoking in all public places - and that includes those designated puffing
rooms in the office. Does this spell the end of fag feuds in the workplace?
Eleven per cent of non-smoking adults are exposed to tobacco smoke at work
and according to Professor Jamrozik's calculations, approximately 700 people
a year die from lung cancer, heart disease or stroke because of passive smoking
at work. Bar and pub workers account for a large proportion of these statistics,
but this is a problem for office workers too.
Smoking in the workplace has been a growing issue of contention since the beginning
of time, becoming one of the most emotive and potentially damaging to office
harmony and the biggest issue in the office rights' battle.
And now that the non-smokers have won the battle with a total ban, what affect
will this have in the office?
'Smokers are bone idle and should be sacked,' says Sarah, a conference manager
in London, who's fed up with colleagues regularly popping out for a fag.
'Anti-smokers are holier-than-thou, self-righteous, small-minded bigots' replies
Louise, who works in the same office as Sarah and suffers the daily indignity
of sheltering in a freezing doorway to smoke.
Until the new law comes into place, employers can provide their workers with
specifically designated smoking areas within the office. Sophie, a PA in an
investment bank says 'We have a rule in our office that people can smoke in
their own offices after 7:00pm - but the smell still seeps through to our open-plan
deskspace. Knowing who's around and who smokes does effect my decision on whether
to do some overtime that evening.'
But not all offices are so accommodating. For those who send their smoking
employees outside, the source of friction - the fag break - remains which can
prove problematic for company productivity. In 1996, one study estimated that
lost productivity due to smoking was costing employers in Scotland more than
£1.2 million per day, or £292 million per annum.
What the law says
From summer 2007, smoking in the workplace, including in smoking rooms in any
part of the office building, will be illegal. Failure to comply will be a criminal
offence. Individuals may be fined a fixed penalty of £50 for smoking in
no-smoking premises, and employers could be fined a fixed penalty of £200
for allowing smoking.
The Environmental Health Department strongly recommends that businesses and
organisations develop and implement a written smoke free policy to be communicated
to all staff. This policy should state the law and the procedures to follow
in the event of a non-compliance.
Smokers are still free to take cigarette breaks outside the office as before,
but the existing law remains that unauthorised breaks can lead to dismissal.
The desktop dilemma
Alison Jeffreys, a training organiser in Coventry, says she's becoming increasingly
frustrated because she's the one left answering the phone when her smoking workmates
aren't at their desks.
'I used to lie and say they were in a meeting, but I'm just so fed up with
it now that I tell the truth and say they've gone out for a fag,' she explains.
'I don't see why I should make it easy for them. After all, I'm not getting
as many breaks as they are.'
But Linda, a smoker who works in an insurance company in Birmingham, says she
suffers harassment from anti-smokers at work.
'I work with a couple of people who seem to spend their time just trying to
make my life a misery,' she says. 'I don't smoke in the office, but they still
give me grief if I go outside. They choose to ignore the extra work I do to
make up for my smoking breaks.'
The government predicts an estimated 600,000 people will give up smoking as
a result of the law change, and this will certainly seep through to the workplace
with fewer fag-breaks. But will the new law appease the existing antagonism
in the office? And will it be enough to offset the extra fag-break time for
those offices who will have to get rid of their designated areas?
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