Seriously, what's up with all the smokers at Kroger? Full disclosure, I have never smoked, but I am married to a smoker so I am not an anti-smoker a-hole. But holy Jebus, it seems like every one I work with at Kroger is a smoker. Is there something about this line of work that attracts smokers? It gets a little annoying when people at self checkout are asking me for help when the person who is supposed to be working self check out is out front smoking.
You raise an interesting question re a connection between addiction issues and retail workers. I can't imagine there's a direct link, but certain professions do seem to draw their own brand of afflictions, i.e.: lawyers tend to be coke heads, doctors = alcoholics, etc.
Speaking from both sides of the smoking jones I can tell you: smokers are job site liabilities! Like you described, constantly gone, energy in the toilet when they come back from a smoke break, constantly down sick. When you're a smoker you're too close to see it.
Oh yeah, i've noticed this in my store too. Smokers of all ages, some of the people younger than me smoke, thats what i don't get. I get older people smoking but why in the world in this day and age do 18 year olds think it's a good idea to smoke?
I know in my department of 6 people, there's 3 smokers in it, two people who are 50+ years old and one girl who's not even 20 yet. I'm not sure about our new hire but the other person i know doesn't smoke.
I couldn't do it even if i wanted to, i get a headache if i'm around smoke too much.
Oh yeah, i've noticed this in my store too. Smokers of all ages, some of the people younger than me smoke, thats what i don't get. I get older people smoking but why in the world in this day and age do 18 year olds think it's a good idea to smoke? I know in my department of 6 people, there's 3 smokers in it, two people who are 50+ years old and one girl who's not even 20 yet. I'm not sure about our new hire but the other person i know doesn't smoke.
I couldn't do it even if i wanted to, i get a headache if i'm around smoke too much
Another good point: the persistence of smoking.
The tobacco industry spends BILLIONS keeping their very lucrative business alive. Vapes are hot right now, but all they're really intended for is the very thing they serve as: a gate way drug for the real bread-n-butter, Marlboros and Newports. Between the aggressive advertising and under handed chemical manipulation of nicotine levels, R.J. and P.M. will easily continue to flourish for the next 50 years.
I used to smoke for 2 years. Part of the addiction isn't just the nicotine, but the routine. I usually worked the same shifts (two midnights, two 6-2a) so when I had my breaks it was just routine to go have a cigarette. If I didn't go smoke, or I worked a different shift, I felt kind of weird.
Also I used to take the customers too seriously and let them stress me out, which is what a lot of people do.
So much misinformation in this thread. Nicotine is a stimulant, so it boosts productivity and cognitive ability as well as alertness. I've only known two people who took smoke breaks on company time, one was a co-manager the other is just plain sneaky and doesn't do much work anyway. I have never seen a cashier go out and smoke on company time. That is a problem with your store not a Kroger problem. Yes, there are a lot of smokers old and young who work for Kroger. I hope I'm not offending anyone by speaking plainly.
1. People who make careers at Kroger tend to come from the lower class section of society, me included. We didn't have the college fund or the rich uncle willing to pay our tuition. We didn't have the ambition or the ability to work our way through college. Not everyone can do that, so we end up in retail or some other comparable industry. ASK your coworker about their life story. You'll find most of them have had tragic pasts. They had a successful business but the recession bankrupted them. They had a good job but were layed off due to outsourcing but nobody wants to hire a middle aged person. Their parents died young and they had to care for their dying grandparent while working overnight at Kroger. Fact is lower income people tend to smoke more and more likely have addiction issues.
2. Working at Kroger will make you tired and stressed from all the changing shifts and changing routines. If you're a stocker, your back and knees will hurt (maybe not now but when you get older they will). If you're a cashier your legs and feet will ache and if you're an introvert you'll be sick of forcing yourself to communicate with customers constantly. We abuse nicotine, caffeine, alcohol, pain medicine and sleep aids, hell even herbal teas to adapt. It's the same in any other physical labor job. Having a cigarette every two hours will make you more alert and awake. Smoking makes you focus on your breathing in addition to providing the endorphin release when you're addicted to nicotine. This calms you down.
3. Kroger attracts people with mental disorders. They have gaps in their resume and don't interview well or they wanted a part time flexible position. Kroger can even create a mental disorder in someone who didn't have one to begin with. Again, it is from the changing routine and/or stress. Several of the people i work with have developed panic disorder from working at Kroger. I've had a few panic attacks myself. Kroger likes making us stressed, it gets our adrenaline pumping which allows us to work faster, and then it increases our chance of dying before they can pay us a pension. Kroger heaps on more and more work for less and less time to squeeze us, and the stress it creates is beneficial to the bottom line. They don't even care if anyone gets injured anymore, because they have lawyers that will get them out of anything. People with mental illnesses tend to smoke more. It enhances cognitive ability, the reason why 90% of schizophrenics smoke, it helps you think straight when your mind is all jumbled.
4. You work with smokers, you look up to them, you might pick up smoking. Or you like to take breaks with them, you might smoke more than you're used to our have a difficulty quitting smoking because of it. You might not even be ready for a cigarette, but you have one any way because it's break time and you don't know when you're going to be able to take your lunch. When i quit smoking i had to stop taking breaks with my smoking coworkers from other departments. It's miserable having nicotine withdrawal, pallets and pallets of stock to do, not enough time to do it, and not being able to take a break with the people you most want to talk to and vent with.
5. Vaping is a serious problem for tobacco companies. They are scrambling to get it taxed as a tobacco product which would make the prices astronomical and discourage smokers from switching to vaping. Congress wants that tax revenue also, so i see this happening anyway.
