Over-use of cologne/perfume in the workplace

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I have one co-worker here who I just wish would bathe....... I can follow his trail though the whole building.

This year I spent several thousand $$ on lighting renovation in one office - 2 imported Italian fixtures that are LEDs w/ remote dimmers, the whole nine yards.....(i'm in facilities).... all for two people who used to work at home, and now had to start coming into work. We also have a corporate anti scent ban in our office... We did everything we were legally required to do to accommodate them... and they've all gone on to medical leave. On one hand, I do know people have problems, but on the other, you can see how frustrating it can be. Honestly, I don't believe these people wanted to have to come back into the office so they're using their sensitivities against the company. In the long run, they're the ones going to loose their job and cost the company thousands.

I can smell darn near everything.. luckily the only thing that really physically bothers me is cigarette smoke. I get an instant headache from it and if exposed, like at a resturant/bar for several hours, I'll be physically sick for days afterward (lol, no it's not from drinking).

So I can sympathize, but don't ever use it as a tool to manipulate, you just make it harder for your sensitivity to be taken seriously. (not directing at anyone on here, this is what I believe the people I'm talking about at work are doing.)
 
I look at the topic of too much perfume or other smelly products like an invasion of my personal space, kinda like someone smoking. I have no problem with them doing it as long as I don't have to deal with it in the space that I am required to be in. You don't have to be alergic to a substance to find it next to impossible to live with.

Our human sense of smell is a very complex thing; its a direct connection through our lungs to our bodily functions. That's why aroma therapy works; its not just the smell, you know. It's also why we shouldn't breathe in cleaning fumes from bleach, acetone, paint stripper, etc. - they are poison in our bodies.

If it is a situation at work, the manager should take the offending 'stinker' to a private office and start the conversation with a compliment. "I'm so happy with the way you do________." Or, "I'm so pleased with the way that you complete your projects timely" (or whatever). "But there is one area that I need to see corrected and that is your personal hygene". Then just state in plain english what you expect the employee to do. "The odor from your _____________ (perfume, BO or whatever) is distracting in the office environment". "How can I help you correct this?". And let them answer. I've actually had to have this conversation with employees for both the perfume issue and the BO issue and both corrected the problem. Nobody wants to be the 'stinky kid'.

If that doesn't work, just use my suggestion in an earlier post; tell them that if they don't stop stinkin', they'll be taken out back and beaten...

Just kidding on the last sencence, of course....sorta.....
 
A woman whom I was deeply in love with once explained it like this:

Do you know why women wear makeup and perfume?

Because they feel that they are ugly and stink!
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Which, ironically, if often the effect OF wearing the crap...

Well, that or people might think they walked into the funeral home... all that makeup, overdoing the roses smell... yeah.

Mom and Sis are the smelly ones in our clan... Mom drowns herself in Beautiful. You visit her house just for a meal and it takes DAYS to get the smell off of you. Or the kids'll visit and come home and now MY house reeks of the stuff. Just too strong. If your perfume can override the smell of what I'm cooking, the candle I'm burning, my and DH'd deo, soap and shampoo AND the smell of three dogs IT'S TOO STRONG.
 
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Once again you are going off on ASSUMPTIONS...YOU are adding parts to the story that either didn't happen or were not divulged....
This is as far as I got on catching up on my thread...& I don't even have the luxury of addressing your complete "version" of what happened. For now, I will just address the bolded section:

Please, in all your wisdom, tell me how I "handled" her?
WHO said me & my "patrol of women went up to her" and addressed this? The fact is (oh, wait...are you even concerned with facts?) I pulled her aside and addressed it politely. When I said that others have told her as well, where does it say we ganged up on her?
I would be very surprised if that tactic worked as well, which is why IT DIDN'T HAPPEN THAT WAY.
I would also be surprised to see a thread where you respond based SOLELY on what is written...not what you imagine (always negatively, I might add) in your mind.
If this thread doesnt get closed, I will address the rest of your misconceptions at a time that is more convenient for me...
 
You guys keep alluding to the answer to this problem but just are not seeing it- the solution to this problem is, fight the perfume with BO! Stop bathing for a week and go to work like that. Do this for a week straight. Fight odor with odor! Trust me, it will work. Those Perfume Prudes will get the point. If you have to put up with their smell, then they have to put up with yours! What's fair is fair!
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The title of this thread caught my attention and I felt compelled to reply to hopefully clear up the above quoted misconception. This is NOT a factual statment. Quite often asthma attacks/flare ups ARE triggered by perfumes and many, many other things in our environment. Please see the links below. "Asthma triggers" can also be googled for a plethora of information.

http://www.webmd.com/asthma/guide/asthma-triggers?page=3

http://www.wvasthma.org/Asthma101/AsthmaTriggers/tabid/207/Default.aspx


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It is a fact that in some people anxiety is a trigger but it is NOT a factual statement that strong scents do not bother most asthmatics. I am one and I know many, many others and for the vast majority of us, strong scents DO in fact bother us and trigger both asthma attacks and flare ups.

It concerns me that people that do not have asthma themselves or have any experience with someone that does might be misled by the above quotes.

I'm not trying to add fuel to the fire here but I felt strongly enough to pop in and educate with some facts.
 
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Good luck TigerLilly,

I feel your pain and I hope it works out for you in a positive way. I've been there and the frustration of the seriousness of the "over use" of colognes and perfumes in the work place that not only trigger asthma attacks/flare ups but migraine headaches as well is overwhelming. I have found that only those supervisors that have experience with them truly understand and expedite the situation correctly.

I have a SIL that gets migraines from certain lights, perfumes etc. Our MIL has never had either asthma or migraines and we have spent several decades listening to statements like:

"How can something as simple as LIGHTS cause migraines? Are you sure?"

"What do you mean PERFUMES gave you an asthma flare up? That sounds ridiculous to me."

"You're more allergic to the BIG dog (that she doesn't like) than you are to the little dog (that she adores), so I'm going to tell my son to NOT bring the big dog to the family gathering because she bothers YOUR allergies".

Sigh. Non believers are very difficult to deal with...
 
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With us it isn't just a breathing thing, not lung anyways... it effects sinuses, nasal tissue, eyes, burning throat and if comes in contact it can cause rashes... mom found an exception for her in Beautiful, hence not ever wearing anything else... urk. Gran couldn't even handle scented Deo... Mems worse. Also have metal allergies. Mems even had to put clear coat on the inside of her medical ID. We're just weird like that.
 
In all seriousness, this is all about common courtesy. It should not be about who has more power, control or seniority than whom. If an employee is making the rest of the employees miserable with a beauty product, they should stop using it. To continue after being asked shows a lack of respect for fellow employees...
 

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