Why employees that smoke cost you money

Smoking is not just a bad habit; it is an unhealthy practice that costs employer money. When employees smoke it costs their employers a lot of money each year. There are several reasons why an employee that smokes costs their employer money. This article discusses why employees that smoke cost an employer money.

Health care and insurance costs

One reason why an employee who smokes costs their employer money is through health care and insurance costs. In general the costs of health care and the costs of health insurance is going up dramatically each year. There are many companies who are trying to limit the costs of their employees' health insurance through different avenues such as limiting coverage or increasing their deductibles. But having an employee who smokes will actually increase the insurance premiums; possibly even by three times as much as a non smoker's health insurance premium.

But it does not stop there. Many times when there is a smoker or two in an office, the health insurance costs will go up for every employee since they are in the same building breathing second hand smoke at work. This means that an employer will lose even more money to their employees' health insurance even if they do not smoke.

Lack of productivity

As with any sick employee, employees who smoke are not as productive as employees who do not smoke. Smoking employees have to take their smoking breaks which take them away from their work. Employees who do not smoke do not have to take these breaks and therefore are usually more productive.

There are also many side effects that smokers experience that make them be less productive employees. For example, many smokers have higher levels of CO2 in their blood which can cause them to be less efficient and mess up more on their work. Many employees who smoke also experience lower attentiveness and have eye irritations. All of these problems that come along with smoking cost a company and the employer a lot of money because of the mistakes that are made by employees who smoke.

More sick days

Employees who smoke tend to take more sick days than employees who do not smoke. On average an employee who smokes can be gone from work as much as fifty percent more than their non smoking coworkers. Employers lose a lot of money from their absent employees.

When an employee calls in sick an employer will usually have to find someone to replace the employee for the day or days that the employee is absent, or they will have to take the time to make sure that the work gets done by several employees. Either way this costs an employer a lot of money. Usually when an employee calls in sick there is also lower productivity and the time that is spent trying to make up the lost productivity costs the employer a lot of money.

These days just about everyone knows that smoking is dangerous to a person's health, but many people do not realize how much smoking will cost an employer. And while the tactic may not yet be used by every employer, many more people may see the question, "Do you smoke?" on their job application. This question is becoming even more important as and employers are feeling the strain of their smoking employees.