Getting employees to stop smoking

Smoking is a habit that many people wish they could just quit and never have a problem with again.There are many reasons why and individual would want to quit smoking and just as many reasons why their employer would want them to quit too.Smoking can be a very damaging thing to a person and a business.Here are some pointers on getting your employees to stop smoking.

Some of the most compelling reasons for employers to help employees who smoke quit are financial.Research shows for every employee that smokes, the average business loses over $1700 a year in lost productivity and an additional $1600 in medical expenses.These figures can add up very fast.There are also other aspects to consider that can translate into reduced profitability and lower workplace morale overall.

Several recent studies have reported that almost 70% of smokers would like to stop smoking, but just haven't been able to find the motivation or the right way to go about it.If you have an employee or employees that smoke, chances are they might fall into this group of people.It also makes sense for you to help them in their desire to quit smoking, because having employees who smoke can bring on very real costs for your business.You can provide an opportunity for these people to stop smoking and save yourself some money along the way.

While the ultimate responsibility for quitting smoking isn't your responsibility, you can help employees in many different ways to make the necessary steps to quit.There are several different approaches that can be taken.One of the methods deals mostly with education and information.A little knowledge about a subject can really go a long way and it's much easier for someone to be motivated to accomplish something if they know more about it and what they are really shooting for.If you take this approach, you can provide your employees with information, such as self help guides, which puts the power to quit in their hands.This is a more hands off approach and works best for some company cultures.Another option is some kind of facilitated assistance.This basically means that you provide your employee the means to work with agencies outside the company to help them stop smoking.These can include help groups, and even professional counselors.This option is more comprehensive and will probably see more results than just providing your employees with information.When they have the support and help of other people, they are more likely to succeed in their efforts to quit smoking.

Another type of treatment plan or approach would be considered a comprehensive plan.The comprehensive plan brings everything closer to home and provides the same tools and resources at more convenient times, even if it spills over into work a little.Sometimes breaks and lunch hours can be spent working on the strategies and techniques that are the most likely to provide ultimate success for the quitter.The responsibility is still on the employee to take the necessary steps and actions to complete the process.

Establishing a non smoking environment at work can be challenging, but you can provide motivation and incentives for employees to abide by the rules.It is much more likely that you will be successful in enacting a non smoking policy if you are willing to help those that smoke the resources they need to quit.This shows confidence in them as well as the fact that you are willing to put something into it.This will make it much easier for your employees to commit to the cause as well and really make an effort to quit smoking.