In many companies, there are different employees with varying personalities and habits. Most of the habits portrayed by employees are reflective of their personal lives. Some personal habits may have impact on work performance and the general work station conduct while others may not. It becomes the concern of employers if personal habits which constitute the private life of an individual begin to impact on work performance (Repa, 2010).
The policy adopted by Wayco Company is a good policy to be exercised in firms but it should not infringe on personal lives of employees. The decision Wayco took of initiating a non-smoking policy is a good decision. This is because some employees smoke at their work places exposing the non-smokers to health risks through passive smoking. However, as the human resource manager in a company, I would only introduce the policy in the work station.
The policy should not go beyond the work place because this would be tantamount to infringing on the privacy of the employees when this does not in any way affect their work performance. If an employee does not smoke in the work place but smokes at home and this does not affect his work performance, he should not be discriminated and denied employment.
Employers have the right to demand non smoking commitment as part of employment conditions. This may be part of the policies of a company in order to guarantee a conducive working environment for the rest of the workers (Anderson & Blandpain, 2005) However, this should not be used as a basis for discriminating against employees who smoke.
The non-smoking policy should be put in place to take gradual effect with new employees joining the company. If employees were recruited in the company when such a policy was not there, it would be very unfair to terminate their employment because a policy that does not favor them has been put in place. The bottom line is that employers have no right to discriminate against employers who smoke (America Cancer Society, 2011)
Ethical decisions are aimed at shedding some light on what we do by helping us evaluate our normal actions and judgments. Ethics does not only offer a description of the world but also gives a prescription of how things should be. Ethical decisions are therefore decisions that we make on the basis of the knowledge that we have of what is right or wrong.
This means that actions taken from ethical decisions are beyond actions done as a result of other considerations. A legal right on the other hand is different from an ethical decision in that it is something that a citizen has the privilege or right of doing because it is not legally wrong. If something is legally right it means that it is acceptable and every citizen can do it.
The conduct of employees outside their work station should not be the concern of the employer. The much employers can do is to restrict employees from smoking in the work place. I do not agree with what Wayco did by telling employees that they have to stop smoking completely otherwise they lose their jobs.
The owner of Wayco Company fired employees on the basis that they should stop smoking to become healthy like himself. What employees do after they leave the office should not be the business of the employer as long as it is not related to their work.
With regard to smokeless tobacco or smoking cigar, I think employees should be given a chance to smoke because this will not affect other employees (HSE, n.d). The idea is that if smoking has no effects on the working conditions of the employee and others they should not be discriminated against.
The action taken by Wayco of discharging four employees because they could not stop smoking is unfair. The punishment is too harsh and inhuman. Such an employee may be very productive in the company and dismissing him on such grounds is a great damage to his life and the productivity of the company.
Reference List
Anderson, G., & Blandpain, R. (2005). Kluwer Law International,. Bedfordshire: Kluwer Law International.
HSE. (n.d). Advice on smoking at work. Web.
Repa, B. (2010). Your Rights in the Workplace. California: Nolo.
Society, A. C. (2011). Smoking in the Workplace. Web.