Here are eleven behaviors you absolutely do not need to deal with in a coworker: 1. It drives me up the wall. No, I think youre absolutely normal with your dislike of various scents! And its usually not like I can just switch from the scented version to the unscented one the one Im using is the only thing there is! Sometimes the smell of our homes gets on our clothing, so our clothing smells like it even if we didnt intentionally put it there, and we may not notice it. It dont bother me. Negatively challenge your work or attack your work values in the office. If a colleague burps frequently after drinking soda, suggest that she consume a non-carbonated beverage. Also, interestingly enough, I have grandparents who live in another country. Snarky or not, it does highlight that the problem is the co-workers to solve, not the OPs. And one year when I was a broke college student, the place where I worked had basically an endless supply of get a meal 1/2 off coupons from Moes, which was next door to the store and made it the cheapest full meal I could get most days. That stuff is horrid as is varnish and a lot of paints, although paint companies are getting better and better at doing paint formulations that dont make even non asthmatics want to gag. This might be a long shot, particularly since it really just seems like your coworker is being a jerk. I honestly tried to accommodate my coworker but there was nothing more I could do. Listed as smelling like sky and linen. But if OP doubled down and insists that they dont actually smell, they will frankly not hold as string a position as if they continue to be open to learning about ways they might be bringing patchouli scent to the office. blanket? Also, the day she complained I wasnt even wearing patchouli! My mom says the same thing about Caress body wash. What she doesn't know is that I love to sniff all her friends shoes. OP has done put in a ton of effort to alleviate the smell. I bet the letter writer burns incense, which is pervasive and will stick to clothing. Its your co-workers responsibility to go to their supervisor with a request for accommodation, doing the formal form filled out by a physician versus going to you each time she doesnt like the way you smells when you have done everything that you can do to accommodate her. Telling someone they have to drastically alter their *non work life* to accommodate someone that doesnt like a smellhell, even someone with allergies or migrainesisnt cool. At least she would actually SEE you trying something and, who knows, it might take care of any lingering scents. Consideration and empathy cut both ways. Its not bad, its just hey, you smell like your mom. I think that it might be another coworker or it could be the scent from a product used to clean the office. Not even to not wear it, just to not bring the damn bottles in. But definitely talk to your manager about moving spaces. Its a classic case of the cure being worse than the disease. Brush that crazy right off and go about your business. ;) Honestly, next time she snarks about patchouli, Id literally laugh in her face, like Seriously? If you are using natural cleaners those do have a scent. At the same time, my regular hearing has worsened noticeably. On a related note, my ex-boss smelled pretty strongly of second hand smoke. That doesnt keep the other odors from actually entering, though; it just overpowers them. Stupid 16 year old prick that couldnt have been more annoying to begin with. Refer them to another coworker or someone who's working on something similar, so they can help each other. When used often enough, this technique can make your colleague think twice about the . I have some sympathy for people with asthma, etc, but I have to admit not as much as others on the board. Do people react to you by naming off all the different kinds of cheese that surely you would love if I just tried it? Its just her dryer sheets, but it lingers for several months. Yesterday your breath smelled and that's going to hinder talking to customers. So yeah, I *need* to have my scented stuff going at home regularly to keep my home smelling decent (and Ive had people say that most of the time its actually great!) (Sometimes I feel like a hypochondriac, since I have so many medical conditions, but I swear Im not! incense? This is a coworker/management problem, not an OP needs to take special tablets and buy a new bedspread problem. Jerk. Out of curiosity, does the sound of a nose being blown bother anyone here? Yes, this is what Im finding a little boggling about a lot of the comments talking about scents at home, in mattresses, sheets, etc. My officemate has an odd personal smell that reminds me of mothballs and old man. I agree that theres a practical limit to how much you can accommodate allergies and sensitivities. For those who like it and for whom it is normal it is fine. I dont use scented stuff, I bake if I want the house to smell nice., And I finally sat her down and said Hey Coworker, I want you to know that I dont dislike your perfume/lotion/candle scent ( although I did dislike them) I just have a strong, physical reaction, and when its pollen season, or mold season, Im extra sensitive and really cant handle any of those products in the air.. Feel free to be comfortable with that fact. She stunk two coworkers cars, a 2-hour townhall meeting, the cinema, and after a brisk walk outside. It came on after a bad cold last year. I suffer from phantom scents (associated with seizures). So many great suggestions here for how to deal with her from that perspective since she, not the scent, is the problem. Anyway, since then the smell is so offensive to me. You are a much nicer person than I. I would have drawn a line in the sand with your co-worker in a likely not-nice manner. IE you can spray Febreeze but by gods let me know so I stay out of the place for a half hour or more so the scent carrier dissipates. But talk to your Dr. That could be the diagnoses. {Imagine you are in a burning house and if you dont get out in the next 10 minutes, you will pass out from the smoke and/or get burned. A bacon and Stilton jacket potato sounds amazing, though. Even though they say unscented many of them still have a scent. Your nose remembers stuff your brain just doesnt and makes huge amounts of connections. What I found is that sniffing is a form of anxiety. However, consideration goes both ways and it sounds like your coworker is taking this to an extreme. Youre lovely! Is the problem with ME personally or something that I am wearing or carrying? Let her sniff your jacket or your bag for example. However, nothing I could do would fix the problem. I find it appalling. Theyre going to keep pushing and pushing until either they 100% get their way, or the person accommodating them says no, Ive done enough for you, thats all your getting., For the record, I love the phrase go pound sand. However, I draw the line at cheap room fragrance oil diffuser things for some reason, those set off my migraines. 10% off Management Today's Leadership Learning programme. right now, but Ive had this schedule for about 10 years now, so my hair is used to it, and I have a whole network of people I trust to tell me if its time to wash again. Allow your puppy little sniff breaks along the walk to decompress from walking alongside you in Heel and get their fill of scents. Here we go 1. That said, I havent seen a lot of patchouli-scented hair products (I mean, maybe 1-2 from the natural shampoo section? Theyre advertising is hilarious but humans have been emitting bathroom smells since well forever. I love lOccitane products, they somehow avoid scent allergies for me. Had it one day. And if the coworker isnt asking every single person in the office to eliminate scents of all types, it seems clear to me that this is less of a fragrance issue and more of a my coworker is a jerk issue. Its one thing to say dont wear perfume/aftershave/etc at work. It helps keep dye from washing out of fabric, but it can also set a stain instead of removing it. It could also be that OP is very crunchy granola, (think Phoebe from Friends) and her coworker doesnt like those people. Maybe shes conservative, maybe she just finds them annoying, maybe shes worried OP will kidnap her and force her to participate in a drum circle. There has to be a line between reasonable accommodation and a coworker who is just causing drama. Because if it is lingering on a jacket or handbag (or even jewelry), she wont be able to smell it. It was Jack Daniels for me. you said exactly what I tried to say, but much more eloquently. Stop using the lemon-scented body wash for a few days and see if she keeps making the comments. We get really obsessed about smells. I am only saying this in the hopes that getting to the bottom of the issue will make it easier to figure out a solution. Your coworkers shoot you irritated looks as you clear your throat (again). Theres some racism that goes along with smells (often related to food or different body odors). Have a colleague who won't stop sniffling, all day every day, for weeks on end, he doesn't even have a cold. I do have a sweater that lives at the office, and I took it home and washed it after she complained. If that doesn't do it, HR or headphones. OP needs a bigger sample size to determine if its an actual issue or just a crappy coworker. Yeah, totally, for mention of patchouli above I think you can refer to the Zendaya Giuliana Rancic dreadlocks saga of 2015 for an example on how this can play out. Thats a good idea! By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. This is so timely! It was actually a specific experiment testing chemotherapy-related food aversions. Your symptoms are very common for people who have a form of acid reflux called laryngopharyngeal reflux - also known as "silent reflux" because many people with LPR don't have the traditional symptoms of heartburn. As someone who doesnt use any scented products, I can say that any smells I come across seem to linger longer for me than most people since its now such a shock to my system. I commented below, but it seems to me that your coworker just doesnt like your scent. We rinsed them off and re-used them until they were super gross. It really is a nightmare and it has caused a host of anxiety problems for me in addition to the physical one because of the aggressive hostility I have received as a result of approaching people about their scents. 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