Employment

In today’s work place employers have the upper hand. It is a sellers’ market. Employers are able to be choosy; they can pick the best of any and all job applicants, even if the applicants they do not choose are well qualified.

Two job applicants arrive at your firm and both are hardworking, qualifications are outstanding and both are willing to work for you at the stated wage you propose. How to do decide between the two?  You notice that applicant Mr. Smith is a chain smoker, while applicant Mr. Jones is not. You notice that Mr. Smith is overweight as well while Mr. Jones is very fit. So you sit down and weigh all of these factors into your equations as to which one to hire. Finally you have made your decision and you have chosen Mr. Jones and you did so out of concern about the future healthrisk of Mr. Smith.

Again, both applicants are well qualified and can clearly do the job and do it well. But as the boss you have to look at the big picture when you hire someone. You have to take into consideration not only is the applicant qualified to do the job but also can he or she work with the other employees? Can the applicant be counted on to show up to work and not be late or tardy on a consistent basis? Will the applicant take and use my company supplied health benefits and sparingly who will I have to be next to my smart phone all the time because the applicant will be calling again to let me know that he or she cannot come to work again because of their known health issues? Mr. Smith could benefit from the electronic cigarettes because it would not expose his co-workers to second smoke as he works. Also the electronic cigarettes would help improve his overall health by not introducing the cigarette smoke and tar and nicotine to his system. And with a better overall health record as a result of using the electronic cigarettes instead of a regular cigarette will also improve Mr. Smith’s chances for future employment.