By Tom Ryan
Big Y set July 1 as the first day its workers will no longer be allowed to smoke on company property on company time.
According to Big Y's new policy, employees can no longer smoke on store premises during paid breaks, and if they wish to enjoy a smoke during unpaid breaks, they have to go at least 50 yards from the building.
The smoking ban does not apply to customers. Instead, it's part of an ongoing effort to improve its workers' health while holding down health care costs.
"We just want healthy people," Big Y health & wellness administrator Christine Jette told Progressive Grocer.
The smoke-free workplace was heralded on June 29 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at its 55 stores in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Big Y has over 9,200 employees. Full-time employees receive health coverage at no cost, while part-timers are eligible but have to pay some expenses. Health care costs range from $4,700 to $4,800 per employee.
The aging population and increasing medical expenses are working against corporate attempts to keep health care costs down, said Peter Tavolacci, of Mercer Human Resource Consulting's health and benefits division, which advises Big Y on the issue. But changing behavior can have a significant impact. "It really is behavior, not genetics," Tavolacci told the Connecticut Post.
The smoke-free workplace initiative is just a part of Big Y's health-and-wellness program, which includes a wellness team that travels by van to different locations all year long offering free health screenings to employees.
"It's all connected," noted Ms. Jette of Big Y's various employee health-related measures.
To support its non-smoking policy, Big Y is offering reimbursements for nicotine patches and holding smoking cessation classes at each store.
Despite the workers' ban, the stores as expected to continue to sell cigarettes.
"It is a very fine line and we have discussed it, [but] there's really no easy way around that one," said Ms. Jette.
Discussion Questions: What do you think of Big Y's smoking ban? Is this a proactive or intrusive way to deal with rising health care costs?