I relocated to the midwest after living in California for 19 years (I
know, that’s a whole ‘nuther discussion).
Anyway, one of the biggest shocks is not only the amount of people
who smoke, but the amount of smokers in technology fields. In my
group alone (about 15), there are 6 smokers! And the boss calls
himself a ‘part time’ smoker.
So the major pain is that most, if not all, of the smokers disappear
each hour for 10 to 15 minutes. I know it doesn’t take that long to
smoke a cigarette (I’ve been a non-smoker for almost 20 years), so I
assume there is ‘networking’ going on. This leaves some issues open.
One, the rest of us have to pick up their slack. They aren’t around,
they don’t get the calls or assignments. Two, the discussions taking
place that involve work related issues don’t get communicated back to
the non-smokers until most of the issues have been decided
(remember, I said the boss was a smoker). Three, I – and the other
non-smokers – end up working at least an hour to an hour and a half
more than the smokers and we’re all on a 40 hour work pay scale.
Four – and this is a real issue – if the nonsmokers take a 10 minute
break in the breakroom and we’re “caught”, we’re instructed to return
to our cubes.
I like the job and the people I work with for the most part. It pays well
and I believe that I have a future with this company. I don’t want to
leave, but I don’t want to feel that I have to start smoking again to get
in on the ground floor of projects and assignments and I surely don’t
want to stand around with the smokers while they smoke! I don’t really
mind that they disappear or that I end up working more hours, but I
hate the double standard.
I don’t want to come across looking like a whiner or troublemaker, I
want to be the go-to person, but I feel like I might be missing
something by not having access to the “smoker’s club” and the boss’
ear.
Does anyone else deal with this situation?