Burning Issue

Brother Bluto

We have a manager that feels entitled to take an excessive number of cigarette breaks throughout the day. Everyone feels that the manager has lost "Face" as he will walk in to the break room and catch an employee taking an unauthorized break, chase them off, and light up a cigarette and drink coffee himself. We're in a weird situation because the GPM does the same thing as does the Vice President. Of course these are the only two individuals having the authority to counsel him, but the manager would obviously have issue with the double standard. The Japanese members of management feel that because the Japanese managers came from Japan under contract from our parent company and work 12 hours per day, that they should be allowed the privaledge of having so many cigarette breaks. Where as since the manager we're having issue with is American, even though he has the same salaried, exempt status as the Japanese managers, and works 10-12 hours per day, he should not be given the same privaledge. I explained to the Japanese management that there is no difference between the Japanese standard and the American standard, but rather a question of leadership standard. Management needs to set the example and the standard, not the exception. Any comments?

ray a

We had a manager once who took twenty 1 minute smoke breaks a day. That equalled two 10 minute breaks the ee's had.

Brother Bluto

Thanks - but, our manager is taking at least the 20, 1 minute smoke breaks, and two to three 10 minute smoke breaks, and the half hour lunch break where he smokes at least three cigarettes, he used to smoke on the production floor before I started working here. And, somehow, he manages to smoke three packs a day!

E Wart

I recently had to talk with one of our GM's about smoking breaks because of employees' complaints. (He is a smoker too.} He got defensive and made every other excuse... but in the end I think he saw that there was a double standard for those who smoke and those who done. He had a talk with all his employees and hopefully it is over for a while.
My suggestion would be that "smoking" isn't the real issue. The issue is the amount of break time given to employees is not consistent. If there is a ligitimate reason as to why one is given more break time than another, fine. We need to define that. (For instance, if an employee works 8 hrs vs one that works 12 hours.)
Also, look up your state's legal requirements on break time.
Now, if an employee wishes to take four 5 minute breaks (instead of one am 10 min. and one pm 10 min.) you may be able to make that consession. However, folks should be treated consistently, no matter where from. (If they are in the US working, they should be under US policy and procedures, unless there is some "written" agreement.
Besides this, you must make managers realize that they set the example for their employees and if they do something, employees feel that it is ok if they do it too.
One thing I like to do, if it doesn't take too much time, is do a quick calculation as to how much money is being spent on "break time". That is one of the items I used with our GM. It was hard for him to talk with his employees about improving profitability when he allowed these people to take this much time (and spend this amount of $) and then he paid them time and a half to get the job done because they were on break. Sometimes dollars hit home with management.
E Wart