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Dear Prudence: Office perfume etiquette
Q. Office perfume etiquette: I work in a small office with about 12 other people, all women except one man. It’s a small space and as the front desk admin, I have to interact with everyone throughout the day. I unfortunately get frequent migraines (averaging 2 per week), which are very painful and challenging to deal with. They happen so often that I can’t use my sick days to get through them, so I’m regularly in pain at work. Over the past two years I’ve tried working with a doctor to lessen these attacks, to no avail.
My problem is that my migraines are sometimes triggered, and certainly aggravated, by perfume and other chemical scents. About five of the women in my office wear strong and heavy perfume every day. I can’t avoid my co-workers and am not able to close a door to cut myself off from the parade of competing floral and powder scents that waft past me every few minutes. What can I do to deal with this in a respectful, effective way? I’ve explained my problem to a few of the women and asked, very kindly and apologetically, if they could wear less perfume to the office, but none of them have made the effort to do so. One woman started wearing more instead! I feel like a jerk for dictating such a personal habit to people I have to get along with every day. But I’m in agony, and it’s driving me insane. Please help!
A: How awful that one of your co-workers responded to your request by wearing more perfume than before—that’s baffling, unnecessary, and cruel. I feel like there’s been a cultural tipping point over the last few years, and most people are at least aware that sensitivity to perfumes and colognes can be a pretty common migraine trigger. I’m sorry that asking individuals politely hasn’t helped. I think your next move needs to be talking to your boss and HR, if you have an HR department. Framing this as a medical issue (and a workplace productivity issue—you can’t be useful as a front desk admin if you’re at home or on the verge of passing out) will hopefully get some weight behind your request.
Has anyone had luck getting co-workers hooked on perfume to cut down? Do signs help? Air purifiers tucked behind the desk? Let us know.
My problem is that my migraines are sometimes triggered, and certainly aggravated, by perfume and other chemical scents. About five of the women in my office wear strong and heavy perfume every day. I can’t avoid my co-workers and am not able to close a door to cut myself off from the parade of competing floral and powder scents that waft past me every few minutes. What can I do to deal with this in a respectful, effective way? I’ve explained my problem to a few of the women and asked, very kindly and apologetically, if they could wear less perfume to the office, but none of them have made the effort to do so. One woman started wearing more instead! I feel like a jerk for dictating such a personal habit to people I have to get along with every day. But I’m in agony, and it’s driving me insane. Please help!
A: How awful that one of your co-workers responded to your request by wearing more perfume than before—that’s baffling, unnecessary, and cruel. I feel like there’s been a cultural tipping point over the last few years, and most people are at least aware that sensitivity to perfumes and colognes can be a pretty common migraine trigger. I’m sorry that asking individuals politely hasn’t helped. I think your next move needs to be talking to your boss and HR, if you have an HR department. Framing this as a medical issue (and a workplace productivity issue—you can’t be useful as a front desk admin if you’re at home or on the verge of passing out) will hopefully get some weight behind your request.
Has anyone had luck getting co-workers hooked on perfume to cut down? Do signs help? Air purifiers tucked behind the desk? Let us know.