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Comment by jacalata | Hacker News Reader

An office that is worried about the productivity loss of smoke breaks is run by idiots.

I don't smoke in my office, but I do drink a lot and piss a lot as a result. I find walking away from the screen helps my thinking process. Sometimes I even get to the toilet and realise I don't need to go, its just a habit when I want to think about something.

Please explain ? If you think about it, if someone goes away from their desk for 5mins (conservative estimate) 10 times a day (given not everyone goes that often) that is almost 10% of their day "wasted".

It's also relevant to more than just productivity, e.g. a receptionist leaving the phones unattended.

10 times a day? O.o I dont know where i read that, but isnt it assumed that we (IT specialists) are productive about 60% of our work time?

Agreed realistically there will always things that limit your productive time, and that's normal, although management will try to push against that. The question is from a company policy point of view. E.g. new policy "Employees are allowed 3 smoke breaks a day , or they may use an e-sig at their desk."

There are studies around showing that even a few minutes walk can increase creativity. So it is actually possible that smokers that are going out to smoke are actually more creative that their sitting counterparts.

Here for example : http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/04/30/want-to-be-more-cre... but there are likely more serious link around.

It's only "wasted" if you can show that they would have done more if they didn't spent those 10% on breaks.

The reality is that most people don't do more by skipping their breaks. They just start working more slowly or their minds drift away. This is more true for people doing creative jobs which is more and more people every year.

I'm software developer solving relatively difficult problems, I can really focus maybe 2-3 hours every day on real work. I spend the rest trying to do mundane stuff, learn things, talk to people, etc.

I aim to go away from my desk for 5 minutes 5 times a day just to walk to the kitchen and stand there, because getting up and walking around is good for me, I get sick of staring at a computer, and I need a break. If your receptionist is not doing their job well enough then tell them, don't make a stupid rule about smoke breaks just to introduce another rule about bathroom breaks next week and a new one restricting time spent doing something else the week after - make one rule about the behaviour you care about (leaving the phone unattended). Also bear in mind that if your business relies on the receptionist never leaving the desk then yea, the people in charge are idiots.

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