Do you think people should be allowed to smoke at home?
In order to protect the health of all workers and as a way to improve productivity, Japanese companies have been trying to discourage smoking in the workplace. At the company where I work, smokers have to go outside to smoker huts and are not allowed to smoke inside the buildings. I totally agree with this rule.
Since the pandemic began, many companies have gone to working at home or telework, as my students call it. Now some companies are trying to ban employees from smoking at home during work hours.
One of these companies is Japan's largest brokerage firm, Nomura Holdings, which is asking all group company employees not to smoke during working hours. This policy takes effect from October and applies to those working at home and those in the office. The Executive Managing Director Iiyama Toshiyasu says smoking affects people's health, whether they smoke at home or at the office, and banning smoking could improve workers' productivity. Other companies making the same policies include retail giant Aeon and food makers Ajinomoto and Calbee.
What do you think about this? I am a non-smoker who hates cigarette smoke. I'm happy when restaurants and public places do not allow smoking. I agree with no smoking in the office. When it comes to the private homes of smokers though, I think they should be able to do what they want. (Whatever they want that is legal that is.) I think this could become a slippery slope. What will people not be allowed to do at home next?
9 comments:
I have a terrible reaction to cigarette smoke and told my husband I could not be married to a man who smoked. I have two neighbors who only smoke outside... and I can tell,even with my windows shut, when they are out smoking. I have been glad for the gradual elimination of smoking sections in restaurants.
That being said, what one does in their own home, needs to be decided by the family. If the company doesn't want to hire a smoker, that is another.
I don't think smoking at home should be banned, if a smoker takes many smoking breaks that has to be sorted with the company they work for.
That is an 'iffy' question. If the Smoker was a sole person in the home, then that would not be so bad - if other members were non smokers it should be a family choice. Non smokers in the same house can also be affected by exposure to second hand smoke.
Not hiring a smoker would cause anger and loss of wages. A difficult decision for a long time Smoker.
How much better for everyone's health were smoking a thing of the past - no cancers, breathing problems, deaths.
Bad managers, overwork, rude customers, and sitting all day are terrible for worker health - are these companies doing anything about those issues? Do they start and end work at a reasonable hour? Do they let all their employees truly relax off the clock instead of expecting them to answer calls and emails at all hours every day? Can employees flex their time in order to get things done? Do they "fire" their jack*@$ customers? These managers should focus on running their business, not their employee's home life. How dare they even suggest it! Are they going to make everyone toss processed foods from the kitchen and join a gym next? Do employees need to take all the electronics out of their bedrooms so they get enough deep sleep? I'm just hopping mad anytime businesses get confused about the difference between a mommy and a manager, and I've never smoked anything in my life.
Japan has accelerated its recommendation to quit smoking in the last decade.The country and hospital Always recommend smoking cessation.As a
result,smoking is becoming banned everyhere.There are smoking booth in same place.
Somp people find smoking unpleasant of worried about health hazards.So smoking must follow the rules and smoke in the smoking booth.
I think smokers should follow the rules regarding cigarette in the office and home.
I don't hats smokers who follow therules.Because in Japan,people over the age 20 can buy and smoke cigarettes.
If both the country and the hospital say smoking is very bad,I think the law should ban cigarette.I wonder why the country does not regulate by law.
Pamela: I agree that they should not smoke during working hours, it only takes a little time to lite up but having to grab the butt and smoke takes longer.
I agree that if you are on the clock for the company you belong to them until you break.
I come from a smoking family, I have never taken a puff of a cigarette, I am 70 no health problems and have lost four family members to smoking, two younger brothers and both parent, my Father had lost a leg due to smoking no circulation from smoking.
Nope they should not smoke during business hours.
Catherine
Yo creo que el hogar es PRIVADO, y que en privado uno puede hacer lo que desee. Si una empresa no quiere que su trabajador fume en horario laboral, me parece correcto, pero entonces que la empresa dote al trabajador de un lugar específico de trabajo, y que sea la empresa la que corra con los gastos de la energía, la infraestructura etc... Si la empresa quiere un tele-trabajador, tendrá que admitir que, cumpliendo el trabajador con todo su deber correctamente, el resto pertenece a su hogar y es PRIVADO.
Of all the blogposts about trends you have written, I think this is the most interesting. I am glad I am commenting late so I had the opportunity to read the others' comments.
That is another thing that is interesting about blogging - reading the comments.
I am not a smoker, and don't like the smell of cigarette smoke, although I must admit to being attracted by the smell of a pipe.
There is no doubt about it, smoking IS bad for health.
However, there are various reasons why people smoke. You might have taken up smoking because the environment and 'climate' was right. It was the thing to do. Maybe your parents smoked, or your friends and colleagues.
Think of movies made in the past, where smoking was a part of everyday life. Also it made the gangster or cowboy more hardboiled, striking a match against the sole of your boot, flipping open an engraved gold cigarette case, think of the flapper with her long cigarette holder... The same goes for the lyrics of songs, 'Smoke gets in your eyes' has the image of smoky jazz cubs or cocktail bars, men in tuxedos and women in little black dresses...
Modern movies and TV dramas have done much to change the trend, as have the health campaigns and various bans. What used to be THE thing to do, is now shameful and inconvenient. It might be stylish to have a cigarette dangling from the corner of one's mouth in a bar, but to stand shivering in an over crowded clear glass shed outside the hospital or station is far from hardboiled.
Another reason for smoking is of course that it occupies the hands - for the insecure it is something, rather than someone, to hold hands with. Now of course, we have the mobile phone to seek security and company from.
Finally we can not ignore the power of nicotine, once you get 'hooked' you are addicted and it is VERY hard to stop.
Now we come to the question of WHERE you can smoke, and WHO can set the rules.
In my opinion, my home is my castle, a place where I can do what I want, as long as it is legal and is not against the leasing contract I have signed with the landlord. It is a place were I should be able to dress the way I want, eat the food I like, watch the TV programmes I enjoy and smoke if I so wish.
However, I fully agree with Julie, that rules in the household should be set by the family, not by theIndividual (unless you live alone) or your employer.
Claudette 497 takes up another very important question: what do companies do about other working environment issues - over time, power harassment, wages, flex time, nasty customers...
In Sweden there has been another problem to discuss. Who is responsible for the work environment when the staff need to work from home? Who pays for the broadband and AC/heating? Who is responsible for the back ache you get from sitting incorrectly, should the employer supply you with an office chair and desk...?
Companies really should scrutinise their own treatment of the work force, before dictating whether or not you can smoke at home. I am all for encouraging a healthy life style, but not the forced control of it.
I honestly don't get why anyone would WANT to smoke inside their home - the whole place will smell like an ashtray - but I also don't think we should put too many restrictions on what people can do in their own homes.
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