As a former smoker myself, I've discovered that smoking often leads to the need to take breaks outside of the home. The reasons for this vary from person to person, but there is one universally applicable reason: smoking restricts the smoker's mental activity. This means that the smoker is not thinking very clearly about the issues or consequences of smoking. Thus, taking breaks in the home are particularly important.
For example, take breaks outside of the home for participants described in our qualitative study conducted with a local high school and middle school aged children. At least two-thirds of the participants described having very difficult times concentrating on school work when they were holding on to a cigarette. Nearly half of the participants said that it was difficult for them to concentrate at all on anything when they held a cigarette. Further, participants who smoked cigarettes regularly but took breaks from smoking during the day (or always on days that they did not smoke) had higher grades in school than did participants who did not smoke, or never smoked. (These results remain statistically significant, but the effect is more profound for teenagers than for adults.)
According to studies of people working at home, people who take breaks from their jobs described having less stress and were more satisfied with their jobs than were those who did not smoke. Further, people working outside the home were more likely to report fair job satisfaction. Finally, a recent study that analyzed office personnel found that those who worked from home were more likely to have high job performance than were those who worked elsewhere, but were not smokers. (The study was published in the Journal of Applied Psychology.)
In addition to improving work quality, breaks are an employee wellness strategy that promotes greater morale and productivity. Given the large amount of money spent every year by corporations for health care and productivity management programs, companies may be interested in taking similar steps to improve employee wellness. Moreover, a health-focused work environment can help reduce the workplace stress that often leads to absenteeism, tardiness, poor attendance, on-the-job accidents, and other health-related difficulties. (In a recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers explored the relationship between smoking and work-related deaths among nurses. They concluded that smokers were more likely to die from heart disease, lung disease, and other diseases.)
One strategy that many companies use to encourage employees to take breaks outside of the work domain is arranging in-person meetings to discuss workplace issues. For example, some companies organize annual employee meetings to review policies and practices regarding sales practices, quality of product or services, and other concerns. Some have even gone so far as to hold seminars or workshops to teach employees how to better deal with clients. (A recent study published in the journal Health Services Nursing reported that companies that held in-person meetings to discuss issues related to health care experienced significant increases in patient satisfaction and productivity over a one-month period.) (The same study indicates that nurses who took short breaks from their daily duties experienced greater job satisfaction and job fulfillment than nurses who did not take such breaks.)
In addition to in-person meetings, some companies make use of more informal methods of encouraging people to take breaks outside of their work arena. (These include providing snacks, inviting colleagues to lunch, or having employees go for a walk during lunchtime.) Some companies also create fun "idea booths" where ideas can be shared and products brainstormed. All of these approaches, whether they are practiced on a daily basis or not, tend to create social distancing from the work environment, and employees are more apt to feel disconnected from the firm as a whole.
Participants described a number of other benefits from their company's sabbatical program, including improved job performance and increased profitability. Among participants who were former or current smokers, those who took short breaks while still working reported being happier than those who did not. They also said that there were a decrease in stress and an increase in socialising.
Although a qualitative study cannot verify or prove that smoking related sick days lead to more sick days due to absenteeism or decreased job performance, it does appear that these patterns are plausible. Participants also described the negative effects that unhealthy behaviours may have on their own health. For example, participants who smoked while working described feeling tired or run-down after being out of the office for extended periods of time. Smokers also described a decrease in socialising, a decline in their quality of sleep, and difficulty concentrating at work.
