Many workers in Japan embrace smoking at office to puff their way up career ladder
- Most people in a survey cited the professional benefits of lighting up at the workplace, a trend an anti-tobacco advocacy group says won’t last long
For generations, “nommunication” – or drinking with colleagues after work – has been credited with fostering corporate spirit in Japanese firms, releasing office tensions and building close professional relationships.
Now, a new study suggests that despite the well-documented risks to health, smoking performs a similar function in the Japanese workplace.
The research by Clinic For, a Tokyo-based healthcare provider that offers a range of courses to help people stop smoking, on 521 patients found that lighting up helped 56 per cent of respondents to relieve stress and feel relaxed.
The findings, published last month, also showed the unhealthy habit assisted 54 per cent to “change the mood”, while 22 per cent said smoking improved “communication in the workplace”.
Drilling down into this segment revealed that 37 per cent said being with other smokers made it easier to discuss job-related issues and 29 per cent attributed the reduction in work stress to cigarette break.
Another 23 per cent said communal smoking facilitated contacts and beneficial relationships outside their usual workplace connections, and 16 per cent even claimed it helped them with changing jobs within a company or securing a promotion.
