Employee sues over co-worker's perfume
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Why on earth didn't you just say to her as you were near her and your eyes were running etc "sorry if I sneeze but I'm really sensitive to your perfume" and smile in a nice way when you say it. Spread it around the office at lunchtime in a subtle and non offensive way. I bet within a day or two she would have cut back on it gladly. Going to the manager seems like the worst possible way of resolving it short of litigation. No wonder she gives you dirty looks.
"I don't want more choice. I just want better things!" - Edina Monsoon
mmmm.... Choices Should she put up with a smell that was causing trouble to her work performance and to her health? (not permanent damage, but annoying at least) Or she should talk to her... after other people has already talked to her and she reacted feeling offended? (obviously she felt that her perfume was good for her, thus it must be good for everybody else... how dare they to question it) Or she should think that is her job, (the one that pays the bills) and if it is making her under perform then let her boss know? (consider also that she already reached the point of rather quit than stay around and smell that perfume)... at the high cost of receiving "dirty looks". C'mon, it is a work place not high school . If the perfume lady were mature enough to understand that the rest of the world does not have to put up with her tastes in perfume, then she should apologize for making other people uncomfortable. But reacting with a "you are a mean to me, I have to tone down my perfume because of you, I don't like you anymore" it is just flat out childish
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JimmyRopes wrote:
Whenever I was in close proximity my eyes would water and I would start to sneeze.
Why did you go *that* close to her?
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brahmma wrote:
Why did you go *that* close to her?
Not by choice. :-D
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Steve McLenithan wrote:
Even relatively mild perfumes and scented deodorants make my eyes water and itch. It's a real pain in the ass sometimes.
You have eyes in your ass? :omg:
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Joe Woodbury wrote:
I'm not very sensitive to perfumes, but I once tried a new antiperspirant/deodorant that was so strong I had to take a shower to get the smell off. My son sometimes gets so carried away with his Axe spray it leaves my eyes watering.
I haven't used deodorant in at least 30 years. I used to get terrible rashes from antiperspirants and once I gave them up the rashes went away. I have a hard time with laundry detergents also. I use soap sparingly instead of detergent. When I tell people I don't use deodorant, usually when they are complaining that their arm pits are sore from using antiperspirants they are always surprised and say things like I never knew because you don't smell bad. To block sweat -- a natural body function -- can't be healthy. I put powder on my armpits and that seems to be all that is needed.
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Hold it, I'm turned off by human body odor and I will sue if I have to smell it.[^] :rolleyes: Homer: In America, first you get the sugar, then you get the women. Nothing do it with that, just came to me as I was typing.
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Sorry to disagree but going to the manager was the right move,at least in the US where the person you confront for their maleficence could sue you for harassment. Work is not a social event, leave the smelly stuff at home along with the fancy dress, and the social climbing games.
David Lane One World One People.
No need to apologize for disagreeing. :) Work is easily 50% to 90% a social event. Everything in life is a social event unless you live in a cave by yourself. Those who understand this and are good at it will excel at any task they put their mind to. People who are well liked by their work mates, fit in well, know how to inspire confidence in others, are decisive and calm when everything is going to shit are people who do very well, get promoted; in short get whatever they want in life. I guess it depends on the person and the social skills they have, but if it was an issue for me I would go to the person and discuss it with them in a non-threatening, non-confrontational, pleasant and fun way, perhaps in front of one or more other people being present just to ensure there was no misunderstanding. I would stress that it's my own issue not theirs and they are not at fault because they simply didn't know the affect it was having. In short I would convince them to ease up on the perfume and leave them with the opinion that they were being very magnanimous and an all around good person with no bad feelings of any kind. Of course I could talk the hair off a dog :), but I think it's one of the most important skills in life that you can posess. If the person reacted badly or refused to change then I would explain to them in the same manner that it was really an important issue to me and that I would be going to the manager to see what could be done to mitigate it. With the manager I would take the same tone and suggest several courses of action helpfully that would all be of benefit to me like a better location, private office etc so that no matter what happened it would be a positive outcome from my point of view without ruffling feathers. To my way of thinking, going to the manager first is about the worst possible way of resolving the situation because it leads to emnity and anger and an ongoing uncomfortable work place. Getting along type social skills are critical in any workplace and it's easy to accomplish if you maintain a humble and non egotistic attitude when dealing with others and take the time to think through what you want to really accomplish and what's most important before you speak to anyone. Any situation, literally any situation, is best resolved in the most subtle and least interfering way possible because it gets the intended result and doesn't lead to unintended consequences.
"I don't want more choice. I just want better things!" - Edina Monsoon
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No need to apologize for disagreeing. :) Work is easily 50% to 90% a social event. Everything in life is a social event unless you live in a cave by yourself. Those who understand this and are good at it will excel at any task they put their mind to. People who are well liked by their work mates, fit in well, know how to inspire confidence in others, are decisive and calm when everything is going to shit are people who do very well, get promoted; in short get whatever they want in life. I guess it depends on the person and the social skills they have, but if it was an issue for me I would go to the person and discuss it with them in a non-threatening, non-confrontational, pleasant and fun way, perhaps in front of one or more other people being present just to ensure there was no misunderstanding. I would stress that it's my own issue not theirs and they are not at fault because they simply didn't know the affect it was having. In short I would convince them to ease up on the perfume and leave them with the opinion that they were being very magnanimous and an all around good person with no bad feelings of any kind. Of course I could talk the hair off a dog :), but I think it's one of the most important skills in life that you can posess. If the person reacted badly or refused to change then I would explain to them in the same manner that it was really an important issue to me and that I would be going to the manager to see what could be done to mitigate it. With the manager I would take the same tone and suggest several courses of action helpfully that would all be of benefit to me like a better location, private office etc so that no matter what happened it would be a positive outcome from my point of view without ruffling feathers. To my way of thinking, going to the manager first is about the worst possible way of resolving the situation because it leads to emnity and anger and an ongoing uncomfortable work place. Getting along type social skills are critical in any workplace and it's easy to accomplish if you maintain a humble and non egotistic attitude when dealing with others and take the time to think through what you want to really accomplish and what's most important before you speak to anyone. Any situation, literally any situation, is best resolved in the most subtle and least interfering way possible because it gets the intended result and doesn't lead to unintended consequences.
"I don't want more choice. I just want better things!" - Edina Monsoon
Well said . If everyone had your sense and abilities the there would be no need for 'Supervisors' of wich you will be if you are not already.
David Lane One World One People.
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Well said . If everyone had your sense and abilities the there would be no need for 'Supervisors' of wich you will be if you are not already.
David Lane One World One People.
What people probably don't realize is that they are only harming themselves running to the manager / supervisor. There are few things less appealing to any manager than having to mediate between two co-workers for some personal issue. Frankly I'd rather get rid of the person coming to me with the problem more than anything else, it certainly would annoy me that they haven't even attempted to settle it on their own first and put them on a mental black list.
"I don't want more choice. I just want better things!" - Edina Monsoon
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Hold it, I'm turned off by human body odor and I will sue if I have to smell it.[^] :rolleyes: Homer: In America, first you get the sugar, then you get the women. Nothing do it with that, just came to me as I was typing.
"Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it." - George Bernard Shaw Web - Blog - RSS - Math - LinkedIn - BM
I can really relate to this as well... A slightly elderly coworker that I sit next to wears a perfume that smells like my grandmother's basement - best described as kind of a moldy, very potent smell... like old musty clothes that have been stored away in a place that would get damp from time to time. I told the woman next to me about how her perfume affects me and she immediately got extremely offended that I didn't like the smell of it, stating: "my ex-husband used to tell me it's 'intoxicating'". I use the same exact description of the scent, but she seems to think that it's meant as a compliment and not it's true meaning. She doesn't wear it as much now, but every once in a while she'll still wear it. I've been apprehensive to bring the issue up with management because I get the feeling they will think I'm just whining about something they could care less about. :(( To top it off, others in the office randomly use air fresheners and desk cleaners that quickly fill the air with very stong, chemicalistic odors that makes it hard for me to breath sometimes. I have asthma but the people using these things don't seem to care at all about how it may affect those around them. I think many people in these environments are selfish to the extent that if you complain to them about it, they hold a grudge against you and may possibly use the item even more or worse may do something covertly that might affect your health. -- modified at 13:52 Monday 9th July, 2007
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Hopefully, this will send a message to those who use perfume as a "quick fix" for a lack of showering.