The jerkness indicator that leaps out at me is that she is still fixated on patchouli, which is a pretty distinctive smell. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. This isnt coworker having a legitimate problem, this is coworker targeting OP for whatever reason. I cannot imagine going to work everyday without perfume on. I dont think your co-worker is being very kind and you have gone out of your way to accommodate her, but it is possible that a patchouli scent (no offense, but I hate that smell so much I wont even walk into a store where I can smell it) is lingering in your clothes? I cant think of anything else that I can do. Its not so bad, really, to catch a whiff here or there, but a lot of patchouli is in the form of oil, which makes it even more concentrated and in your face. I wont eat it because when I worked at Golden Corral in college, way before they became a buffet, we used curly kale leaves to decorate the salad bar (they were sturdier than lettuce). I suppose its possible but we have zero information from the letter to indicate race. This is definitely on this co-worker. But that narrows down the suspect list only a little bit. Is it possible the smell is in your sheets or towels? But that doesnt seem to be what the OP is dealing with just now, so she may need to change from the reasonable adult playbook to the dealing with a bully playbook. People get to wash their hair and clothing and body using normal products. Do you wear those oils outside of work? I once did a volunteer gig in a bingo hall this was before tobacco regulations were tightened in public locations and afterwards I could smell the smoke until I washed my sneakers, my purse (fabric, luckily), and my coat and scarf. It makes me wonder if theres a bigger issue going on with Coworkers opinion of OP. My mom has become extremely sensitive to spicy foods as she has gotten older. My husband is quite sensitive to smell and he uses it so I thought it would be okay. Which also reinforces my belief that your coworker can go walk off a pier. Ive started turning music on while we eat as a distraction, even though I usually find background noise annoying, I just requested a two-sided headset to replace my one-sided one so it will fully block the sound of a cubicle neighbor slurping on lollipops and tapping them against her teeth. Sounds like your co-worker is on a power-trip. but your coworkers will thank you. Best of luck OP and as an aside, I LOVE patchouli. The fact that Coworker is specifically naming the scent (patchouli) which OP is clearly not wearing/has never worn makes me wonder if its coming from someone else passing by/sitting near their area or even through the ventilation system if it recycles the air. Love it! 15) She makes you feel special. There has to be a boundary of reasonable action, and I think that the OP has done pretty much everything reasonable. It is very distinct to those of us with sensitivities. can I compare attending college to working a full-time job in my cover letter? Its not like we banned cilantro-flavored food. Even cotton! Even if she still can smell something on you that youre not noticing, shes not bringing it up in a productive way at all exaggerated sniffing and snarky comments are not helping anything! But I agree, thats not what this thread should focus on. At my last job, a coworker suddenly complained about the fragrance of myself and another coworker. I doubt shes likely to react well to someone suggesting this possibility. Never in my life did I think I'd see Gordon Ramsay quoted positively in an etiquette forum, but there it is, and he did well. Oh, thats interesting! Theres no way that none of them have even one Powder Fresh or Ocean Breeze or Fresh Cotton or Freesia Delight product in their lives. I have spent years finding a shampoo routine that doesnt make my hair look really clean, but is passable, affordable, and most importanly doesnt make me bleed. I have heard those who work in cleaning up behind animal hoarders,etc do this. My officemate has an odd personal smell that reminds me of mothballs and old man. In fact, unless the scent comes from something that uses natural chemicals (most dont) or uses a couple of synthetic chemicals mostly used in paints or plastics, it is physically impossible for her/him to have an allergic reaction to it. Your lemony scented hair will seem like a relief, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000OCEWGW/ref=psdc_166034011_t1_B000GKXYZ2, Oh this is way better! Maybe, but one of the complications would be figuring out the nature of the sensitivity.. If you have to be within my personal bubble of space to even smell my body wash then there is a bigger issue then how I smell, and can be easily fixed by staying a respectable distance from me. 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. Arrrgh. When he started doing it I did ask him to go and blow his nose and he said why . Taking credit for your ideas. You can couch it as youd think itd be a good idea of someone checked up on him (and gently let him know that the noise is carrying). i think many of the suggestions here are verging on unreasonable. Also, what if someone cant change products due to an allergy? (I mean, other than the usual feedback from my manager.) LW has gone above and beyond in their accommodation. I drank way too much Goldschlager when I was in high school and still cant deal with it! Is it possible that the oil-based scents are lingering in something that doesnt get laundered very oftenmaybe a coat or even shoes? I HATE floral scents in virtually all forms, but I dont have severe allergies nor do I get migraines. I think coworker, at this point, enjoys seeing OP fly into a panic about stinking so shes keeping up the Ooh, you stink! commentary. If her coworkers sensitivity is that acute, it is up to management to arrange that shes isolated from scents that bother her, not up to her coworkers to arrange their entire lives around it). Call Him on It. It turns out I suffer from ocd i am on medication for it. Under that paradigm, even the Free version would need to announce its presence. If thats the case, theres nothing LW can do. Washing with unscented or mildly-scented bath productsmaybe reasonable, depending sometimes the only shampoo/conditioner that works well for someones hair has an unavoidable scent and I dont think its reasonable to expect someone to figure out an entire new hair routine (which is a process that takes time and money and trial and error, not to mention bad hair days in the interim, with the concomitant hit to self-esteem that may cause) to accommodate a coworker. In addition to all of the good advice above, I think it also might be worth it to get a second opinion. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Scent can also be a trigger for good or bad memories. So anyway, yeah, it could be a medical thing. Myself and my father could countinue to smell it; but my sister & my fathers girlfriend could not. What does the coworker do about everyone else? 10 Worst Cities for Spring Allergies. If your coworker continues the comments after these conversations, then at that point, say this: Clearly this isnt something we can resolve on our own. If they were prevented from being able to smell, many many of them had reactions to the smell when they thought it was there and it wasnt and did not react when it was there but they didnt know. You cant police what people do or wear on their own time. Ive been thinking of the letter recently about the ultra-allergic-to-cats coworker. That last bit of your post is the trouble I always have with scent-free initiatives. I want to clarify that my But I agree that patchouli is one.of.those.smells. line meant that most will either love it or hate it as evidenced by our two opinions here. Interestingly, Im really sensitive to patchouli. 4. Or the chair, if its a fragrance she was wearing for a while before the coworker first complained? What if coworker says the only acceptable product is $100/bottle? Then again, here the people rocking the strong scents tend to be older and more senior in the organization. Peachie, you gave it away a little when you said your mother eats with her mouth open. Luckily for the me vs. scent sensitivity problem a lot of added fragrances give me issues as well so generally you cannot smell any of my stuff unless youre WAY up in my personal space. I have no idea what patchouli actually smells like, but I recognize it through its pop culture association with a negative stereotype of unwashed pot-smoking hippie types. I'm two hours into a four hour class with a girl who has a whole box of tissues but is still perpetually sucking snot into her throat. Youre lovely! When used often enough, this technique can make your colleague think twice about the . No one should have to be subject to being told you smell all the time when you have already done a lot to mitigate that. My problem is that this coworker is now complaining constantly about the perfume Im not wearing! There was actually a study done a while ago that found that a lot of people with sensitivities to fragrance actually had psychosomatic sensitivities. Im 35 years old. Its making me sneeze sooooo bad!! Not only that, but it can also be a sign that your female coworker likes you but is hiding it. She needs to figure out a way to disperse the smell at work (with a fan? But scent contamination can come from many things, often small things. (No, sorry, people reading this, your grandmothers literally award winning fried chicken is still going to make me gag.). Yeah, youre not alone in wondering this. Your team's target will be based on both expansion and retention goals. above and beyondits just a desire to ensure she has the most full-proof and tight case/position. Skip to step 2, talking to the coworker (it sounds like you DID and it doesnt say how she responded to that other than she continues to make snide comments, but if you think laying it out more specifically and clearly again with her is possible, that shes reasonable enough for a clear conversation, then go ahead and do this step), agreed. Weve had plenty of discussions, especially regarding food, that scents are very personal and while someone may hate one they are completely fine with other strong scents. I had a work friend who was constantly bugged because he smelled like cigarettes. That my but I dont have severe allergies nor do I get.... Who was constantly bugged because he smelled like cigarettes is the trouble I always have with scent-free initiatives it! And my father could countinue to smell it ; but my sister & my fathers girlfriend not...: //www.amazon.com/dp/B000OCEWGW/ref=psdc_166034011_t1_B000GKXYZ2, Oh this is way better to fragrance actually had sensitivities! 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