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Comment by draw_down | Hacker News Reader

This stuff just strikes me as very petty. Something about smoking or smokers just drives people a bit crazy. Before she retired, my mom would regularly bitch to me about the smoke breaks her coworkers took. She’d say “maybe I’d like to just go outside for a little walk”. So do it then!

The smoking is bad of course, but the specific focus on it, to me, feels pretty hinky.

How about taking breaks every once in a while because you work hard, and you’re a human, not a robot? That should be ok without the passive-aggressive framing.

I dunno. Just seems a bit “off” to me.

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The reason your mom was complaining is that if she just went outside for a little walk, she'd probably get written up and eventually fired because only smokers are allowed to take those breaks at most workplaces. If you have a boss who's more fair about it, that's great, but I don't think it's typical.

This is especially true for places on timeclocks, probably less if you're salaried.

Sorry, I don’t buy it. I think people tell themselves that to justify why those evil smokers have hearted the system! Obviously it is ok to take a break if people are taking breaks to smoke.

I agree with you, but just because it's obvious to you or me doesn't mean it's obvious to anyone else.

Have you never had a manager who enjoyed micromanaging and enforcing rules pointlessly?

If you haven't personally, have you never even heard of someone else having such a manager?

If a company wants to have breaks for smokers only, there's nothing stopping them: http://www.hrhero.com/hl/articles/2015/07/31/are-for-smokers...

Is it actually okay? I used to work in places where it was questioned why I went to the bathroom as often as I did, but smoke breaks were fine.

Take one of those jobs and find out.

> Something about smoking or smokers just drives people a bit crazy.

I think that there must be some sort of human need to have a group to hate, and that in the West today that unlucky group is smokers. One may say the worst things about them in any social or business setting — that they are stupid, filthy, foolish, whatever — without any risk of being contradicted, indeed with the expectation that everyone will agree with you.

When I started at my job, the head of HR noted where the (outdoor, uncovered, across a street) smoking area was, 'but I don't think you're that sort of person.' He'd never have felt free to say that about other behavioural choices.

I suspect that part of it is that smokers were so dominant for so long that those who suffered in the past are enjoying having the upper hand.

> One may say the worst things about them in any social or business setting — stupid, filthy, foolish, whatever — without any risk of being contradicted, indeed with the expectation that everyone will agree with you

Trump voters, conservatives in general often feel this as well.

Please do not try to taint this discussion with the idea that Trump voters are the real victims.

That's what I do (just periodically go for walks outside). Some managers don't like it, but I usually just ignore them (sorry dawg, my health is more important to me than pretending to be productive for your sake). I usually ended up getting a lot more done when I was doing it as well.

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