Light a fire under their butts
Team members have to pick up trash and pull weeds when taking time to smoke a cigarette.
Team members at Animal Medical Center in Virginia Beach, Va., are allowed to smoke outside the clinic, but Debbie Winter, surgery technician, wouldn't exactly qualify it as a break. "No smoking while on the clock is allowed unless the employee is working," she says. "If team members need nicotine time, we incorporate outdoor, work-related activities. You'd be amazed by how many weeds are pulled, dogs are walked, and poop that's scooped from our clinic's yard while employees have a smoke." And don't forget the trash that's picked up—including clients' cigarette butts. "Our smoke breaks aren't wasted time," Winter says. "They actually benefit the clinic."
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