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Working with a smoker
I'm a part-timer/intern at a small company. Sometimes they send me out to the field to help our field tech out, but he has a really smoking habit and chain smokes. I'm not a smoker and we work in close proximity to each other outside. I asked him the first time to please not smoke around me, but he kept doing it. So, the second time I told him to not smoke around me. He said that we are outside in an open space, so I told him that yes we are but we work in close proximity to each other, sometimes the wind blows and sometimes it doesn't, but when it doesn't it will linger. I absolutely can not breathe when he smokes around me and I can't think or even listen to him talk to me, especially when he's telling me some important things. I really don't want to have to talk to my supervisor about that but it doesn't seem like he's respect my choice of being in a smoke free environment. I also don't want to have to bring my school into this because they said that if I'm not comfortable working with anyone then I can tell them. What should I do?
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You ask (not demand, not tell, not complain, just ask) your supervisor what the policy is around this. Generally, in most work environments, its well understood that smoking is something you do on your break, not constantly throughout the work day, even if you work outside.
So start by asking your supervisor what the policy, if any, is, and if they have any advice for you.
If your supervisor refuses to address your concerns, or tells you that this coworkers behaviour is in line with policy, then you should go to your school.
You will not always be entitled to choose a 'smoke free' environment while you are at work, but you wont know what your options are, or what your rights are, until you speak to someone about the issue.
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You are somewhat between a rock and a hard place. You are not a company employee and he is. You are an intern and if they send you into the field with him then I would say he is a trusted employee who they feel can teach you something.
Before you can complain about his smoking you would need to check the employers handbook relating to their smoking policy. They may have a policy for the office but not one that covers what happens in the field or if another employee objects to a coworkers smoking. If there is such a policy then you can go to the human resources department and file a complaint.
If not you can still go to human resources and file a complaint. My feeling is the most they could do without a policy to back them up is to ask him to not smoke around you. Though I don't see him being obligated to comply.
This leaves you with the only viable option of going to your school. Just what their recourse or resources are to help you in this situation I'm not sure. They could talk to management at the company they deal with in placing students with them and ask them to reassign you to a non-smoking partner. They could remove you from the company and place you with another company with a non-smoking policy.
Looking back over what I have written I believe your best choice and least confrontational choice for you is to go to your school advisor for this internship and let the school handle it.
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