Smoking? Or Missing In Action?
Sick Leave
A study among Taiwanese workers last year showed that male non-smokers took off an average of 3.30 sick days while their male smoking co-workers took 4.36 – or 32% more sick leave.
The same study found that non-smoking female workers took off an average of 3.75 sick days while the smokers among them took 4.96 sick days – the same 32% increase!
The additional absenteeism for both sexes was estimated to cost Taiwanese employers AU$250 million per annum.
So, how about Australia?
Non-smokers of both sexes take 6.58 days per year (it might say something about our work ethic), while smokers take 9.53 days – or 45% more sick leave.
Smoko
Continuing the study, it was found that the time that male smokers took for smoking breaks during standard working hours (excluding meal breaks) totalled more than nine working days, while the girls came in at six days per year, adding an additional AU$987 million to the bill.
You might like to use the table below to work out the figures as they apply to your situation.
Passive Smoking
Researchers conducting the above study calculated that another AU$109 million in lost productivity (increased sick leave) could be added for the effects of passive smoking on non-smoking co-workers.
Distraction
And just to add the kicker, the bill topped off with another AU$46 million for costs attributable to smoking-related occupational injuries among smoking employees.
Making Up the Time
How should a fair and responsible employer handle the fact that some of their loyal staff (we’re talking about good people with a bad habit, not bad people with a bad habit) need a smoke break in order to abate their cravings, or facilitate their thinking processes or whatever?
I say “fair” because the non-smokers in the business are paid on the same basis as the smokers but allocate more of their time to the job and less to attend to their personal proclivities.
The following figures provide food for thought, especially when you consider that the total annual leave entitlement for the average employee is 20 days per year or, in smoking break equivalents, the same time taken off by a smoker who needs a little less than 4 ten-minute breaks a day.
Smoking Breaks Extended to a Yearly Impact
| Breaks Per Day |
Avg Duration In Minutes |
Total Minutes Per Day |
Minutes Per Year |
Days Per Year |
| 1 | 10 | 10 | 2300 | 5.1 |
| 2 | 10 | 20 | 4600 | 10.2 |
| 3 | 10 | 30 | 6900 | 15.3 |
| 4 | 10 | 40 | 9200 | 20.4 |
| 5 | 10 | 50 | 11500 | 25.6 |
| 6 | 10 | 60 | 13800 | 30.7 |
| 7 | 10 | 70 | 16100 | 35.8 |
| 8 | 10 | 80 | 18400 | 40.9 |
| 9 | 10 | 90 | 20700 | 46.0 |
| 10 | 10 | 100 | 23000 | 51.1 |
The above figures assume 230 working days a year (52 weeks, less 4 weeks leave, less 10 days of public holidays times 5 days).
The break duration is calculated from breaking from the task at hand to returning to it.
The Annual Leave Perspective
It can be quite interesting to look at short duration absenteeism such as smoking breaks, lateness, extended meal breaks, early knock off and the like in terms of its cumulative effect on any team enterprise that relies on the timely presence of members for maximum efficiency.
If you consider that the most common leave entitlement is 4 weeks paid holidays per annum, and we base our calculations on a 37.5 hour working week, you can draw the following equivalents:
- Each 52-week year generates 4 weeks leave – that’s 20 days, or 150 hours of leave.
- Therefore, each week generates 2.88 hours of leave (150/52), or 173 minutes
- Therefore each working day generates 34.6 minutes of leave
- Anyone absent for 34.6 minutes a day could be said to be enjoying their full Annual Leave entitlement in advance
- Just 5 minutes late for work? If that were the case every day, it would be equivalent to 1/7th or 3 days of annual leave.
Sharing the Point of View
Who in your organisation would gain from taking some of this information on board?
How could you share it with them in such a way that would lead to a positive result for all parties?
