Smokers more tardy than non-smokers...
HRinNH
1,432 Posts
I know that this is a long shot but our Plant Foreman just had to give another warning to a long-time employee in our plant for tardiness.
He said he once heard that there's a higher rate of tardiness in employees who smoke vs those who don't. He was not trying to find an excuse per se but seemed to genuinely want to find something that he could present to this particular employee that could help him maybe decide to cut down or look at quitting smoking altogether to try and help the guy. I guess the employee goes outside to smoke a lot during work hours too.
He asked me if I knew of any article, document or statistics that would indicate the higher percentage of employee tardiness in smokers.
Does anyone know of such a statistic or is this a dangerous area to get into because of handicaps or discrimination issues? Help!
He said he once heard that there's a higher rate of tardiness in employees who smoke vs those who don't. He was not trying to find an excuse per se but seemed to genuinely want to find something that he could present to this particular employee that could help him maybe decide to cut down or look at quitting smoking altogether to try and help the guy. I guess the employee goes outside to smoke a lot during work hours too.
He asked me if I knew of any article, document or statistics that would indicate the higher percentage of employee tardiness in smokers.
Does anyone know of such a statistic or is this a dangerous area to get into because of handicaps or discrimination issues? Help!
Comments
We do have a smoking policy and it designates times and places that smoking is allowed.
Do you have a good attendance / tardiness policy that you enforce at your company that you'd be willing to share? If so, please fax it to me or e-mail, whichever is more convenient.
Thanks,
Cheryl
fax: 603-225-6930
Leave early, work less than 4 hours - 1 point
Leave early, work more than 4 hours - 1/2 point
Clock in late - 1/2 point
Absent for any unapproved reason - 1 point
Two no call no show - termination
Any two of the above issues in one month equals unacceptable for the month equals counseling. Two of these months in a row equals a notch movement in the progressive discipline (performance commitment) process.
Employee in first 90 days of employment:
Exceeds attendance expectations with 0 points
Meets attendance expectations with 1 point
Unacceptable with 2 or more points
Employee in first six months of employment:
Exceeds with 0-1 point
Meets with 1.5-2.5 points
Unacceptable with 3 or more points
Employee with over six months employment
Exceeds with 0-2 points
Meets expectations with 2.5-5 points
Unacceptable with 5.5 or more
Tardies are tardies when the clock strikes one second past shift start. Zero tolerance. No flat tires, no smoking excuses, no trips and falls running through the parking lot, no non-fatal heart attacks.
What your supervisor seems to me to be doing is 'parenting'. the employee is an adult. If you were talking smoke-breaks, I could relate it to smoking. But, you mentioned tardies, which has no relationship to smoking cigarettes. It is also true that more people tend to be tardy who are overweight, have undependable transportation, live farthest away from the facility, are female, who share a car with a family member, have poor eyesight, are Catholic or any who are the exact opposite of the above.
(note) My posts, although candid and to the point, are not intended to offend any reader. However, they might.
I don't think that smokers represent any protected class.
If he is taking more than the allotted breaks...and is tardy to work, smoker or not, he's violating company policies and should be disciplined accordingly.
Thanks,
Cheryl
It's not that he doesn't get ready...or that he loafs about....not even that he doesn't want to go to work...he just cannot get somewhere on time. I can't explain why, or what he's doing instead...but it's frustrating for me, and our kids...and nothing has been successful at getting him to change....
NOTE this was not a defense for the tardy person..I still believe that an adult should be able to plan to be somewhere at a specific time and barring environmental disaster, be there on time. I just wanted to provide a look at the other side.
If the ee has not yet accumulated three consecutive absences for the year, the accumulated 8 hours absence will be considered excused. If the ee has already taken three or more absences, the hourly increments will require the ee to furnish a stement from a licensed health care provider each and every time, or the absence will be condsidered unexcused and will be included in that total for the purpose of termination.
Hope that helps.
Susan
Our management has been lax on adhering to policies themselves so when a problem comes up, everyone is whipped into shape with memos and Kronos printouts, then comes the finger pointing which rarely results in a concrete solution. I am educating them slowly but surely...
Thanks again for all the input. You all are great at what you do and fun to "chat" with.
Cheryl