Last week I wrote a post about smoking at work and looked at the productivity of smokers versus non-smokers over the course of a work day. The results are inconclusive as to whether smokers actually take more breaks at work or if they are any less productive even if they do take more work breaks than non-smokers.
When I was researching the story, I started thinking about what work life was like for smokers before smoking was banned from public places.
As a kid, I remember visiting my dad at work. He had an ash tray the size of Texas on his desk and it was always full. Smoking was part of his regular work day…it was as automatic as…well, breathing. He never took breaks…he didn’t have to. He could just light up whenever he felt like it. He plowed through his day, cigarette after cigarette. He had a high stress job and smoking kept him calm and kept him focused. He might have actually been more productive at work because of his smoking.
But what if he hadn’t had that option and had worked during a time when smoking was banned from office buildings? I wonder if he would have been leaving the building every 20 minutes to smoke or just smoking less because it was too much of a hassle or too unproductive to stop what he was doing. Would he have re-examined his choices and his habit because of the disruption caused by smoking? Would he have maybe, just once, entertained the thought of quitting?
My dad worked hard so he could get to where he wanted to be financially so he could retire early. He achieved that goal. And soon after he retired, he stopped smoking…because he had to. He was diagnosed with emphysema and COPD.
My dad spent most of his retirement years very ill and he passed away last month. I think his ability to smoke at work made him productive but I would have been happy to see him forfeit a few raises in exchange for a few more years to live.
