A question for the smoking fast food employees?

Question

I'm a new restaurant manager, and a non smoker. Help me understand from a smoker's perspective here.

The workers who smoke take 5 to 10 minutes to smoke cigarettes, sometimes more, and I don't have time keep going outside to get them back to work.

So, by taking the additional break time, the cigarette smokers force the non-smokers to cover for them while they are on their unpaid breaks, and they are getting paid for that break time (no way to clock out for less then 30 minutes, and they are not allowed break times if they are working less than 6 hours).

So, here's the questions:

Help me understand your situation. What is it like to go without cigarettes and why should we give you a few minutes to smoke unpaid?
Do you realize that means that non-smokers have to cover their position and yours?
How can I get my cigarette smokers not to leave to smoke during a rush, and not have to babysit them to get them back to work?

Cricket, it may surprise you, but that is a fallacy that people are entitled to break times. Yes, if they are under 18 there are child labor laws, but you would have to show me the laws concerning being allowed a 10 or 15 minute break to convince me that a worker is entitled to this..

And in my company, we are given the current labor and employment laws concerning breaks, and there are no laws concerning this for adults, only minors.

Answer 1

I am a smoking restaurant manager and although I manage a fine dining restaurant, I'll give you some ideas for your situation. First, I would lay down the law about no breaks during the rush hours, lets say from 11:30am-1:30pm and 5:30pm-7:30pm. Once they get through those designated no smoking times, they must get permission to smoke. This let's you know who is smoking and who is not. Only allow one at a time, this way you don't lose half your staff. Typically, smokers like the social aspect of visiting and smoking. So, only allowing one at a time should speed up their smoke breaks. I don't let any of my employees smoke until after the rush and after things get cleaned up on the line. Then they have to ask permission to smoke. Lay out a plan, discuss with the rest of the management staff, call a store meeting and roll it out. You have nothing to lose and people aren't going to quit their jobs because they have to wait 2 hours or so to have a smoke. They should be busy enough during the rush hours to not notice if they get jittery or feel the need to smoke.

Answer 2

I have to agree with what Katie 1nel said
I spent 18 years doing restaurant work the past few years I have worked in office management and real estate which was easier on my nerves and my back but not as much fun any how there seems to be more smokers in food service than other jobs.
I am a smoker I don't hide it but I also try not to bother others with it as it is a very nasty smelly habit.sometimes non smokers think that smokers have to smoke or they will fall apart that is not true if a smoker is occupied hours can go by and they don't even realize that they haven't smoked so if your employees are saying that they have to smoke to make it they are not being honest. I have smoked for many years and there are still people that don't know that I smoke and not because I hide it, its because I try not to do it at inappropriate times or around any one that it might bother

Answer 3

Well, I smoke, and I used to work in fast food (for a total of more than two and a half years), so I'll tell you my side.

When I used to live in Oklahoma, I worked at McDonald's, and they did not give breaks unless we were working more than six hours. This was highly illegal, actually. In almost every state, if a person works even one minute over three hours, they are entitled to a PAID ten to fifteen minute break.
Over five hours, they are entitled to an unpaid thirty-minute break.
Over six hours, they are entitled to TWO ten to fifteen minute breaks, and one unpaid thirty minute break.

You might want to check your state's labor laws.

Anyway, until management was informed of this, I had to go five hours without any kind of break. By the end of three hours, I was about to kill someone, I was SO irritable. At the end of the five hours, not only was I irritable, but I was having trouble concentrating.

Most smokers are the same way. Nicotine helps us maintain our equilibrium, and helps us concentrate.

I could go three hours without a cigarette, if I had a chance to drink something caffeinated. However, if I didn't even have a chance to get a drink, more than three hours was much too long.

Tell your employees that you're sympathetic, and that you'll tell them when they can take a break, but they can NEVER leave their station without your permission. Then make sure that after they've worked for three hours, they are able to take a break. Don't give more than two people breaks at the same time, so that you won't have to cover more positions than you have employees for. And as the first answerer stated, tell them that you should NEVER have to come get them. Give them a warning the first time. The second time, fire them.

It does take about five minutes to smoke a cigarette. When I had a ten minute break, I'd smoke two cigarettes.

If you're unable to give them breaks at ALL (it's too busy, you're short-handed), apologize, and tell them that you'll try to get them a break as soon as you can.

Fast food can be VERY stressful, especially for smokers. When those rushes hit...I remember being ready to go out of my mind, especially if I hadn't had a cigarette for more than three hours.

Edit: Labor laws for Washington State, where I'm from:
http://www.lni.wa.gov/WorkplaceRights/Wages/HoursBreaks/Breaks/
And the second one is federal laws (and also includes a list of states that have official rules for breaks):
http://employeeissues.com/breaks_meals.htm

I hope my answer was not offensive; it was certainly not meant to be. I've had many employers who were not aware of the labor laws for the state I lived in.

Answer 4

It is perfectly fair of you and not unexpected to say to them:

1) DO NOT TAKE A BREAK DURING A RUSH PERIOD.

2) DO NOT TAKE MORE THAN 5 MINUTES. DO NOT MAKE ME COME GET YOU.

If you get that out of them, I'd call it good enough. Smokers and nonsmokers alike don't usually work hard literally 100% of all the hours in the day -- the nonsmokers will step back and gossip or primp or whatever too. The smokers are just a bit more obvious about their breaks. In both cases I'd cut them a little slack as long as the customers aren't stacking up and getting ticked off about wait times.

Answer 5

The first time they did this, I would give them a warning! The very next time they did this action, they would be out the door. There are plenty of other people that can "take" over there job. They should be treated in the same way as a non-smoker. They are there to work! Good luck.

Answer 6

I dont smoke...but, a couple of things came to mind when I was reading your question...

maybe you should hire non smokers, or, establish a rule, no smoking until your break...

good luck