Have a Break

It was on one such break this week that I made a discovery. Taking a sip of Lady Grey, I clicked on one of those links you always try to avoid. “Seventeen things you didn’t know about Japan”, it said. One thing they didn’t know about me is that I love Japanese things, and another is that I am always looking for decent ways to procrastinate.

This is where I discovered that while we have milk, dark and white chocolate KitKats, Japan has benefitted from over 300 different flavours. Plus, out of all of those, the most popular one was Soy Sauce.

Other flavours have or do include: baked potato, cough drop, corn, European cheese, green bean, hot Japanese chilli, Miso soup, red potato, rock salt, sake, vegetable juice, and wasabi.

They should have just done an article about the seventeen things I didn’t know about KitKat – like the name being similar to the good luck phrase kitto katsu, meaning “you will surely win”. So, from its launch in 1973, bars have been given as good luck or thank you gifts and embraced by the nation.

But, according to Flavour Boss, one group of people who aren’t winning are non-smokers. Apparently, in their survey, two-thirds of non-smokers are miffed that they don’t get the equivalent of smoking breaks, while 80% of people responding were unhappy that smokers were allowed breaks at all.

It is difficult to argue against the fact that breaks freshen up employees. If it works for car drivers then it seems logical that taking five minutes away from a terminal or desk would do the same for someone beginning to feel a bit jaded. Walking about helps the circulation too, combatting the dangers of a sedentary life.

Many employers state that there’s a cost involved in having people wandering about instead of concentrating on their work – and, to avoid complications, have banned smoking as well as vaping.

But, given the new position taken by the UK government, will employers reconsider allowing vapers to vape in offices and work vehicles? The UK’s war on vaping is pretty much done and dusted (bar a few dissenting voices), the only trouble is whether too much damage has been done to vaping’s reputation over the last few years.

At one point in time, being able to vape at work was one of the main reasons behind people taking it up. Are you still allowed to vape at work? Do you think your employer encourages smokers to switch? Would you eat a wasabi KitKat?

*Japanese KitKat image borrowed from Japan Centre, where you can purchase some wonderful yet incredible Japanese KitKats