How to Update Your Employee Handbook

Many employee handbooks have been designed for a workplace that does not currently exist. Physical boundaries were well defined, health risks were known, and “no smoking” was meant without exception. None of this is relevant today. Vaping, hybrid work bases, and a more nuanced view of workplace “health” have all revealed issues for which general guidelines do not apply. Updating your handbook is not about compliance, it’s about outlining what you expect employee conduct to be in your organization today.

Rewrite the language, not just the policy

The biggest flaw with current handbooks is that one word, “smoke-free.” It sounds like it covers everything but it doesn’t. Not all devices are directly producing smoke, but they do manufacture aerosol. Legally and practically, it matters that you can’t assume a smoke ban will also bar someone vaping in the breakroom.

So go through your handbook and replace every reference to “smoking” with “tobacco use and the use of any nicotine or cannabis delivery device that produces an aerosol or vapor.” And don’t shy away with words like “should.” Every “shall” and “shall not” is purposeful and necessary.

Not all aerosolized products are the same, but your organization’s policy covers specific products. List them out. Don’t forget about the newer products like vaporizers and heated nicotine devices like IQOS, and never, ever trust the goodwill of users to limit themselves. They won’t. Make sure you have their social niceties and legal obligations to give you cover.

You could be breezily unconcerned about secondhand aerosol. But a growing body of research shows hazardous chemicals and ultrafine particles in that aerosol. Put that in your handbook and take a stand.

Enforcement needs more than signage

Creating a policy around this is a straightforward process, however, enforcement is usually the trickiest part and where most organisations let it slide, especially where you don’t have eyes – restrooms, stairwells, storage rooms. Signage is only so helpful when it comes to the unmonitored. Employers who want to prevent vaping in the workplace in enclosed or unsupervised spaces are increasingly turning to sensor-based systems that detect aerosol and send real-time alerts to your facilities team. This doesn’t record audio or visual so bypasses the privacy complaints but gives you a solid enforcement leg to stand on. Your handbook should give employees fair notice that they might be monitored in specific areas.

Details of the Disciplinary procedure section should likewise be updated, how many chances are you giving and what are the subsequent action steps for the first time, second time, formal review, etc.? Keeping it broad where it just says “will face appropriate disciplinary action” causes inconsistency and potential exposure when someone calls you on it.

Define “workplace” for a hybrid workforce

Here’s a question most handbooks don’t answer: does your health and behaviour policy apply when an employee is working from home? What about on a client video call?

You need to decide, and then you need to document it. A reasonable baseline is that behaviour policies apply during any work-related activity where colleagues, clients, or company systems are involved – regardless of physical location. That means vaping on camera during a team call, or accessing company platforms from a space that doesn’t meet basic air quality expectations for shared environments, falls within scope.

This isn’t about policing employees’ homes. It’s about defining what professional conduct means when the office is wherever someone opens a laptop. Be specific. A sentence that reads “workplace behaviour standards apply during all company-related activities, including remote work” does the job without overreach.

Expand health standards beyond physical safety

Update your employee handbook to current health standards. It should outline provisions and treatment for psychological safety issues within the workplace. Make amendments to the “Health” section for more inclusive health practices. Include a sub-section that outlines mental health resources or expand the existing one to include general resources for non-smoking such as access to EAPs. This way, the health policy becomes supportive and not punitive. For instance, the use of e-cigarettes in the workplace is a common phenomenon and there are health risks associated with the same, including issues such as burnout and stress. Not all employers see nicotine requests as reasonable requests. However, connecting cessation resources to your EAP in this instance allows you to address it under general health resources.

Also, you will need to revisit the “reasonable accommodation” section as it relates to health following the pandemic. Some employees will want to request air filtration upgrades or ask for a flexible schedule as part of ongoing health treatments. Others will make requests based on respiratory conditions. Add to the section they are likely to request workplace modifications. How will you respond? Identify your existing process and ensure it is consistent with the law and carefully documented for audit purposes. The more complicated situations occur where the accommodation is tied to a disability-related condition.

Clarity is the work

An ambiguous guide which outdates modern health standards is not protecting anyone – neither the employees nor the organization. The ambiguities created by vaping and remote work will not disappear, and turning a blind eye to them will not reduce them. It just makes them harder to control when mishaps occur.

The best organizations at managing employee conduct aren’t always the ones with the most stringent rules. They are the ones with the most defined rules – rules that are detailed enough for expectations not to be up for discussion, and broad enough to cover the actual behavior of people in today’s world of work.