A boss has found an innovative way to encourage his staff to quit smoking by rewarding non-smokers with an extra four days of annual leave.
The managing director of KCJ Training and Employment Solutions, Don Bryden, believes that his staff at Stratton, Wiltshire, can spend up to an hour each day taking cigarette breaks.
Discussing the initiative with the Swindon Advertiser, Bryden said "I was watching the employees that smoke. They have four, five or even 10 cigarettes a day and take around 10 minutes outside each time."
This "child" was spotted smoking by TV cameras at a football match:"I looked at the other guys during these breaks and they're always on the phones, typing away and trying to do their work, so I thought they should be compensated," he continued. "Last year, I saw something on social media suggesting that workers who don't smoke should have an extra four days off."
"Everyone was saying it was a great idea but nobody said they would actually do it, so I came into work at the start of January feeling generous and told everyone we would kick it off."
"Funnily enough, when I made the announcement some of the workers said they weren't going to smoke any more, but it doesn't work like that! If they can give up smoking for 12 months, I'll give them the extra four days. I've worked for recruitment for national and private businesses for 20 years and, a lot of the time, you get used and abused and you just become a number. I'm trying to give something back to the staff, little incentives to encourage them."
"We took all our staff and their partners to Spain for a long weekend, quad biking and whitewater rafting, and we had an awards ceremony for them later that year. It may not make the business more profitable but it has created loyalty and a positive mindset and the feeling of being a family. The team is very motivated," he added.
Well, that's one way to help you stick to your new year's resolutions!
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