In the latter part of the 20th Century, smoking in offices and other public places like restaurants, bars, malls and convention centres was banned in most cities in North America and other countries around the world. These smoking bans forced those who still smoked to go outside their Toronto office space to have a cigarette. Many Toronto office buildings found that people were congregating around the entrances to buildings, so “designated smoking areas” were created away from the doorways and entrances.
With smokers forced to congregate in these designated smoking areas started, it made for a perfect climate for people who did not know each other to begin to talk to each other. After all, most people are not going to just stand there and puff while staring straight ahead. They tend to make small talk with others around them. Often the conversation starts around smokers being the current “bad people” or “social outcasts” creating a aura of having something in common. In large office space Toronto buildings that house many different companies from various industries, many of the regular visitors who are on the same smoke break schedule have developed friendships and even business networking opportunities that they might not have previously made, if not for the designated smoking area. This phenomena is also being seen in other types of smoking areas around restaurants, bars, convention centres, Toronto conference rooms and Toronto meeting rooms locations. Considering that smokers will often take breaks between speakers or workshops at trade shows, these breaks are sometimes the only opportunity to get ‘face time’ with other attendees that could be a valuable asset to their business needs in the long run.
It is often said that employees who are allowed to take smoking breaks during work hours have an unfair advantage over non-smoking employees. But now more and more non-smokers are joining their colleagues outside in the smoking area. This is not just because they want that extra break, but because they are also able to engage in conversations and potentially network with people they might not normally interact with during a normal working day.
The advantage of having office space for rent Toronto in an office business centre like Telsec is that there are common areas where you can meet other tenants who work for other companies – without having to hang out in the outdoor designated smoking area of the Toronto Star Building. Within Telsec’s office for rent facility are areas such as the 2 kitchens where people congregate to get their complimentary coffee, tea and filtered water. These kitchens are also places where office tenants can store their lunches in the refrigerator and heat up their food in the microwave.