a nice outcome of moving

[cellio]

One nice side-effect of our office move in a few months (just down the street) is that we'll have an entire floor -- and the corresponding restrooms -- to ourselves. This presumably means an end to the stench of hairspray from the mid-afternoon shellackings that someone on our floor goes for. Eww. Those people, and the ones who marinate in perfume, really need to develop a better understanding of what ventilation systems can and can't do.

Comments

[ealdthryth.livejournal.com]

Ugh! The marinated people really bother me. I was a little worried about that when I took this job since I work with the public. Fortunately, we don't have many stinkers. The other day, though, a teenage guy asked for computer help. Everytime I went near him, I started sneezing. I don't know what he was wearing.

[cellio]

And, fortunately, you're unlikely to spend a full work day with any particular member of the public, so your exposure to bad smells would be more likely (more people) but less prolonged than if it were a coworker.

I never know how to handle the stinky-coworker problem, whether it's perfume excess, tobacco stench, or body odor. These are things you would hope a friend or family member would have mentioned, but conversely, if such a person has mentioned it and it hasn't had any effect, then what hope does someone else have? (I've had to give that feedback to people close to me, and sometimes they just do not believe it.) And, of course, you need to maintain a good relationship with your coworkers. I once had an overly-perfumed coworker and I made some comment like "I'm sorry I can't spend more time around you but I'm allergic to many perfumes". She didn't get the hint, and I didn't feel comfortable saying "would you stop that?".

[ealdthryth.livejournal.com]

That's true. I can hold my breath or breathe shallowly until they finish checking out. Coworkers are a whole different issue. Prior to this job, I worked mostly with men, most of whom were engineers or programmers. I didn't encounter any stinky problems. I can't believe your coworker didn't clue in when you made such a direct comment!