Time to change your workplace smoking policy

For several years now we have heard the health concerns related to smoking. There are a number of companies that are using smoking cessation programs in order to inspire their employees to quit smoking for good. Quitting smoking will decrease your companies health insurance premiums but it will prolong the lifespan and improve the existing health of your employee. A number of countries and companies have banned smoking in the workplace in order to prolong the health of the co-workers that do not smoke. Since second-hand smoke can be just as deadly as smoking, it is important to be proactive against smokers and to make sure they are not putting their co-workers at risk with their behaviors. A lot of companies are really stepping up against smokers. Some companies are not offering them health benefits or they are charging them more money to insure them because their risky behavior will put the entire company into a higher risk pool. There are even some companies that will not hire smokers at all because of the increased health risks they bring to the company.

Establishing a non-smoking zone is a good option but it isn't always effective because you may have employees that end up smoking next to the ventilation system and the nasty smoke air is getting pumped into the entire building and exposing your entire company to second-hand smoke. The best policy you can adopt is a smoking cessation program that prohibits employees from smoking on company time. This means they can smoke during their lunch hour but they are not allowed to smoke on company property. It may seem harsh to some, but it a great way to keep your non-smoking employees safer.

Another policy that you need to adopt should be an incentive program. If the employees are able to give up smoking, they will be given some type of compensation or reward. It is a great way to get people to quit smoking as money and prizes do tend to motivate a lot of people to do things that they don't like. When you are dealing with an addiction as strong as smoking you need to come up with really good incentives if you are going to get your employees to respond to them.

There is close to $85 billion spent each year on costs related to smoking. Not only is the smoking employee putting themselves at risk they are also putting all the people in their lives at risk. This can cause you to have higher health care premiums for the entire family as the children and others are exposed to second hand smoke and this can lead to respiratory problems along with lung disease and other things.

Since close to 80,000 people die each year because of exposure to second-hand smoke, employers are very cautious about who they hire and rightfully so. As an employer you may want to consider your hiring policy to exclude smokers so you don't end up in a lawsuit because an employee died from their exposure to the second-hand smoke of their co-workers.

Smokers cost your company more on the bottom line too. They take about 1 extra week of sick leave each year. This can cost you lost productivity but also extra sick leave costs and it will reduce employee morale. When the smoker is always missing time from work, other people are forced to step up and take on more work and this doesn't always sit well with them since they aren't getting paid more. Encourage your employees to quit smoking so they can live a healthier life and provide your company with better production.