Source: The Economic Times

WHEN APPEALS fall on deaf ears, the stick is the government’s pick. After Karnataka made people kick off their dancing heels, the Centre is ready to extinguish smoke in office spaces from October 2. The IT/ITeS professionals who spend 8-10 hours in office confines welcome this intrusion with some caution.

“A ban on smoking is an appropriate move that will help non-smoking employees a lot. It seems a little harsh though as it wouldn’t allow a designated smoking zone and might bring disgruntlement among smokers,” said Syed Imran Shah, a Birlasoft employee. His colleague Rakesh Nagpal, a non-smoker, couldn’t agree more as he can now stand in the balcony, previously the designated smoking zone, and enjoy the view overlooking a lake over a cup of coffee. Prajak Chakraborty, a smoker at Evalueserve, isn’t too happy. “Smoking is a personal choice like drinking and sipping aerated drinks, so a ban on smoking doesn’t make sense if the productivity of an individual isn’t affected,” he said.

Coming week, smokers will be forced to go outside the office premises for a fag. With most IT/ITeS companies having a sprawling campus, it would mean a 15-20 minute walk for a puff. A part of the smoking brigade hope that this will make them stub out the habit. “If smoking is banned it will work out for me. My smoking reduces when I don’t have access to cigarettes. For instance, a weekend at home cuts my smoking by 60% as I don’t stock cigarettes. I have to go out and buy and I don’t really go searching for it,” said Edwin David Yoga, assistant manager (operations), Omega Healthcare Management Services. “After the ban, in my team alone, smokers take one smoke break compared to 3-4 earlier,” said a spokesman of Birlasoft, which has already banned smoking on campus. This idea of quitting might not go down well with a smoker who has been puffing for years. “A ban is not the right way to address this issue. It is in our genes to resist any external force. Smokers will find alternatives for this,” said Sabu Philip Parakattu, team leader, Birlasoft. Many suggest softer measures like counseling, awareness campaigns, frequent mailers and getting rid of designated smoking zones.

IT/ITeS companies are trying a mix of all to open their choked chimneys and avoid the fine of Rs 5,000 to be levied by the government on rule breakers. While Omega, with 20% smokers, has made anti-smoking a part of its DNA by making awareness sessions a part of the induction programme, Zenith Software has a secret squad on each floor to help smokers quit gradually, without the smoker sniffing a company hand in the plan. Chimes Group is targeting the reason which forces people to smoke —stress. “We are trying to eliminate the root cause for smoking i.e. stress. Our office designed and managed by Incube Business Centre known as Incube office is designed to eliminate stress. We have observed that the biggest factor in helping employees quit smoking has been their family. We ensure our health awareness messages reach the family through newsletters,” said Mamick Ghosh, head, business planning and control, Chimes Group. Timken India has tied up with the American Cancer Society to dissuade smoking.

Companies are skeptical about the implementation of the ban. Some like Guruvayurappan, HR, Omega Healthcare Management Services, feel ban enforcement is going to be difficult in the night shift and might call for strict policing initially. A few managers worry that long smoke breaks could hurt productivity. “Situations at work can lead to stress, thus the need for a quick cigarette to calm nerves. If there is a no-smoking policy, then the employee will either be less productive due to an inability to remain on task, or will ‘sneak off’ to have a cigarette,” said Bidisha Basu, a Zenith Software employee.

What do other emplyoees feel about these concerns? “It (the ban) will curb the number of times smokers go out for a smoke, ultimately improving their health,” said a Sonata Software employee. “It will take a longer time per cigarette, but then just for that we can’t start missing deadlines and slacking at work,” said Nanda Kumar, senior executive, HR, Yell Adworks, and a smoker. With popular support among the IT brigade, both smoker and non-smoker, the ban might actually prove successful.

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