After the mass popularity of my last grinds my gears segment in which I massed a total of one reply, it's time so a second instalment!
Do you know what really grinds my gears?
"I'm just going to nip out for a fag"
Smokers taking loads of breaks
We all love taking a break in work, me more than most, but at the same time when it really comes down to a hard, busy shift, I get stuck in and work my arse off. What a legend! At the same time, getting a sneaky half hour break does come as a welcome relief, busy or not.
So why then, in the eyes of society, does a person who smokes get to take the piss and take 4-5 fag breaks during a busy shift? Why do they get more time to relax than a non-smoker life myself? This doesn't seem fair.
A smoker would challenge this by saying something ridiculous like, "I need a cigarette to work properly." Fuck you, you don't 'need' one, you 'want' one. Ok, nicotine addiction is both physical and mental but I think even the most hardened of 'users' for lack of a better word can manage to work an hour without needing a cigarette. If not, you got a problem buddy.
And why is someone who is addicted to a nicotine allowed to pursue their own recreational habit when someone else isn't? If I was a recreational cocaine user would I be given the same 5 minutes free to take a sneaky line of the cistern in the gents? In a less extreme version, can you imagine the look of horror on a customers face is you cracked a can of lager, downed it in 5 minutes and went back to doing your job? Why doesn't the sight of a member of a workplace receive the same interest if they are smoking?
In some jobs I've been given the opportunity to take 5 minutes here and there to get a bit of fresh air, but only because I've asked. In other places I've been given a look of complete bemusement as if I'm trying to make a hilarious joke. What, you're serious?!
This isn't a blog to have a go at smokers (mate fill your boots, enjoy it), or even at those who take a fag break (except the ones who really do take the piss, have a chat, read the newspaper). Why do workplaces allow freedoms to smokers that are deprived to those who don't smoke? Discuss
Do you know what really grinds my gears?
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