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Subject:OFF-TOPIC question about an office thing? From:Geoff Hart <ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca> To:TECHWR-L <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>, James Jones <doc-x -at- earthlink -dot- net> Date:Wed, 14 Jun 2006 16:26:35 -0400
James Jones wondered: <<My long-term girlfriend works as a manager in
an office of a foundation and a co-worker of lower rank has been
complaining that her (my girlfriend's) perfume makes her sick or
nauseated. My girlfriend does not wear heavy perfume. You can hardly
tell that she's wearing any perfume at all. Her perfume does not cause
complaints from anyone else. Is this kind of thing an issue in
offices?>>
Regrettably, yes, it is an issue in offices and elsewhere. Some people
have significant allergies to perfume, and the fact that you or other
workers have no issues with the perfume quantity isn't relevant; it's a
real, often somewhat serious medical condition for some people. Think
"peanut allergy" and you'll get the idea, though they don't usually
fall over and suffocate if they smell perfume.
So in most cases, it's an issue of concern for someone else's
well-being: you don't need perfume to function at the office, and if
it's seriously inconveniencing someone else, why bother? (Caveat: I'm
biased here. My take on perfume is that it's all a scam and sends
entirely the wrong message. "Yes, dear, I love you more than life and
chocolate, but frankly, you stink and I'd prefer if you covered up your
natural scent with a gallon of synthetic chemicals. But don't take that
the wrong way." <g>)
On the other hand, if other office workers wear perfume (particularly
the same perfume) and get no complaints, there's a decent chance that
this has nothing to do with the perfume and everything to do with a
personality conflict. If you're an empiricist, you could suggest your
girlfriend borrow someone else's perfume at the office or (even better)
wears no perfume at all for a couple days to see whether the problem
goes away; if it does, it's the particular brand of perfume, but if it
doesn't, odds are good it's actually a personality conflict.
This is not at all an uncommon type of behavior for subordinates who
have no power to shape their own destiny, and who rightly or wrongly
blame the situation on someone else and take out their anger over this
situation on the person who seems most likely to be the cause of their
misery... like a boss. It's a safer form of aggression than many others
because it doesn't result in direct consequences such as a poor
performance appraisal.
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