How do you feel when you see these signs at your workplace or in a building that you frequent? Do you adhere to them? Do you think the building/city has a right to dictate what people choose in terms of personal hygiene?
-
I think it's fine to request that you aren't using highly scented stuff, ie perfume, actually in the building. My gym has signs up requesting no one spray perfume in the locker rooms. But I think it's pretty over the top to tell people they can't wear it at all.
I'm not allergic to scents but don't wear them and am sensitive to the heavier ones.
-
I've never heard of or seen one.
But I'm sensitive to perfumes, so I wouldn't mind one bit.
Assuming it's allergies leading places to ask people to refrain from scents, why not? I think it'd be the same as not eating peanuts on a plane.
-
It doesn't bother me. I'm sensitive to scents, so I would appreciate it. I'd try not to think of it as someone trying to dictate personal hygiene so much as being respectful of people's sensitivities. I don't wear perfume, but if I did and someone said it bothered them, it wouldn't be a big deal for me to stop wearing it.
-
Personally I’d love it but honestly, how are you going to enforce this? A sniff test??? Plus, as someone highly sensitive to scented products I can tell you that a lot of people’s smell comes from their laundry detergent, make up, deodorant, hair products, and lotion. Hair products especially have tons of scent. Plus most hand sanitizer is scented (even the non-fancy ones).
While I was pregnant I had a desk mate whose laundry detergent smelled like cat litter to me. But I never said anything to her because what did I expect?? For her to stop washing her clothes or change detergents?? I thought that crossed a line so I just suffered in silence.
-
I've never heard of this... It wouldn't bother me. Sometimes we get cologne bombed at work and I hate it!
-
We just put this in place at my work. It's a private company, and we are a laboratory, so there is technically valid reason not to wear perfume/cologne (which is what this means for us and what I assume for other places too). We can't control what guests or service providers wear, but we can encourage our employees to adhere to the reqirement. Our reasoning is mostly from an employee who has had to take PTO for migranes a lot recently due to a few other employees who wear heavy perfume/cologne. I don't think it's grounds for termination or disciplinary action, but a general consideration and guideline. I have/prefer to wear a small amount of a light scent, but I have stopped since I learned about the issue and we put this in place.
I think if I saw signs in a building I frequent, I would avoid wearing perfume on days I planned to go there out of courtesy but would not beat myself up if I accidentally forgot. -
@newlypregnantlady: Yeah, I don't think it would be that officially enforceable, I feel like it's more of a way to ask people to be considerate and thoughtful about what they wear to work, the gym, etc. in terms of scent.
-
I think it's reasonable in a work place that doesn't have a lot of public traffic in and out (would be hard in retail, or any other service industry). My mom is very sensitive to smells, and even though she's asked her office mate to stop using candles and air fresheners, because it makes her so sick, she won't stop.
-
I worked in a scent-free office, my supervisor at the time was extremely sensitive to scents. She would get debilitating migraines causing her to leave work. So our floor became scent free. It took a little while to work out, a few people had to be warned several times. We worked with another group frequently, and HR had a hard time reminding them that we were scent-free. Eventually everyone figured it out, and if someone was wearing perfume they would send their work up with someone else. This was a bank in downtown Boston, just for a reference of how big the building/company was.
Someone's health is more important than your need to wear perfume. Just like someone's health is more important than you eating peanuts.
-
@Autumnmama79: I wouldn’t know what it meant. Unless I had training I would assume it’s just perfume which I don’t wear. If it meant changing shampoo, detergent, deodorant, etc I would not based on a sign but would make more of an effort if I knew what I needed to avoid and how it was impacting someone.
-
I'd be a huge fan of this! I'm also very sensitive to scents, they give me horrible headaches. I think it would take a while for people to get on board but I think it would be great.
-
My office is a scent-free workplace. Not everyone always adheres to it, but people are pretty respectful (I work in a health industry). Most of us are in cubes in a large open area, and I can definitely tell with my neighbor wears cologne! It makes me nauseous and/or gives me a headache - it made for very rough days when I was pregnant!
-
I have never seen this but i would think it works more by making people more mindful of what they wear that smells. Like sure people are still going to use scented laundry detergent and shampoos, but they might be mindful not to wear perfume and to reach for the unscented lotion. It wouldn’t cure all but I think would be helpful.
I became really sensitive to smells when I was pregnant and it’s one of those lovely things that never went away. But I’d rather smell someone’s deodorant than their body odor! (Luckily I’m sensitive in that I smell everything and it bothers me slightly but not like migraines or true nausea).
-
@Sams Mom: I can’t imagine how rude you have to be to think your use of air freshener or candles is more important than someone else not feeling physically sick. That’s not like changing your shampoo, that’s just not going out of your way to make things smelly.
-
@Foodnerd81: This woman is someone that I would fight for my mom. She's 45 and thinks shes 25, has to know everything about everyone, won't leave my mom alone asking about things like how much I spent on my wedding dress, where we were getting married, how much our wedding cost... She has said that she can pull clothes off better than my in shape 25 year old sister. My mom is just too nice and too quiet. I cannot stand her!
-
I think my views on perfume do make me an insensitive person in this sense!
For me, wearing perfume is deeply personal. I choose my perfume in the morning the same way I choose my outfit, it is in fact, part of my outfit. I have many perfumes and never wear the same one two days in a row. I choose my perfume based on how I'm feeling or how I want to feel that day. Soft & sweet, light & flirty, romantic & nostalgic, strong & confident., etc. Scent is a part of my self expression in the same way that people display tattoos or choose to wear a certain type of clothing. But it would seem that my self expression is offensive to someone people.
ETA: One spritz is my standard, nothing overpowering.
-
@Autumnmama79: it’s not offensive like they think you smell bad! But for example, I love the smell of lilacs, every spring i stop and smell them whenever i pass them. Last year I picked a big bunch and put them in my kitchen and the next day it was so overpowering. I had to put them outside. That’s the best analogy I can think of- you might smell it like it’s outsidr and airy, but someone else might feel like it’s a bunch of lilacs in the kitchen with the windows closed.
-
@Autumnmama79: I don't think your self-expression offends people, but you have to understand that it affects some people to the point that they have migraines or need to take some sort of medication to ease the congestion that it may cause. I had to give up perfume, scented detergent (which I love), and cut flowers (except once in a while) when I started dating my husband because he is very affected by fragrances/scents. I don't think it's unreasonable in a workplace to try to go scent free.
-
@Foodnerd81: especially when mixed with other people's perfumes and colognes!
-
@Foodnerd81: @tinyperson: I appreciate the feedback and personal experiences, it helps me along in processing my views on the subject and generally gives me a better understanding.
-
@Autumnmama79: Especially when it applies to workplaces, I would compare it to a dress code.
What you want to wear may not be appropriate for the setting you're going to be working in. There are many different reasons (health and safety, custom/modesty, etc.).
I figure it's also a lot like smoking rules. People aren't supposed to smoke within 50 feet of any entrance where I work...because people who are allergic to it or offended by it shouldn't have to smell smoke when they walk into the building.
I think if people want to smoke, fine. They have the freedom to do it. But I shouldn't have to walk through it on my way to my job. They obviously aren't offended by the smell of it, but that doesn't mean I should have to be subjected to it.
-
I'm quite sensitive to perfumes and tend to get blinding headaches when people around me wear them, particularly if the scent is strong or the person is wearing a lot of it.
As a result, I'm very much in favour of scent-free workplaces and am really happy I work in one. I honestly don't really see the correlation between scent and hygiene, since it's possible to maintain an identical level of hygiene using products that are unscented/mildly scented.
As to the self-expression bit, I can understand where you are coming from... but respectfully, I feel that there is a significant difference between somebody being offended by your choices vs somebody being placed in physical discomfort by them. People wearing perfume is not offensive to me, it's just that it unfortunately makes me feel ill. I would be unable to work in an environment with somebody wearing strong perfume simply because I would be in pain and unable to concentrate on my work... and I know there are people who have far worse reactions to scents than I do.
-
This comment has been deleted by the original poster.
-
Whenever I see those kinds of signs I think there must have been a really bad prior incident. I’d imagine it’s hard to enforce, but excessive scents can cause headaches, coughing, sneezing, and blurry eyes. Any of those symptoms could make it harder for people to work.
I’m sensitive to smells and am not offended by the sign/ request.
-
Also, I’ve had service people ( product installers, delivery guys) over at my house that have been offensive- cigarette smoke and excessive cologne. It’s bad.
-
I would love it! I feel like more people are sensitive to smells than aren’t so I really don’t understand why perfume/cologne is even a thing. I cringe when people pull out Bath and Body Works stuff too—eek! But yea, not enforceable but a good way to keep people mindful
-
I would totally support this policy. Scents don't bother me but I have coworkers that get super sick from perfumes and colognes. Other coworkers are well aware of the issue and yet persist in wearing strong scents. I'm not usually in favor of restrictive policies but if some people insist that their right to smell a certain way is more important than someone else's right to get through the workday without puking, then clearly a policy is warranted. It seems like this is a common issue, which strikes me as super bizarre.
-
I've never heard of this. I wish it could happen with the students at my middle school
they overdose!
-
@DesertDreams88: middle schoolers are not known for smelling... good. I can remember a couple of times when they separated the boys and girls to remind everyone to wear deodorant.
-
@Foodnerd81: My mom was a school nurse. She had a file on her computer called "Stinky Letter"
-
I wouldn't know what it means! Does it mean they're trying to discourage obnoxiously strong scents? Or that there's someone with a serious smell sensitivity and any scent will make them sick?
And does this extend to policing what food people can bring? I've been on the receiving end of the latter. FWIW I wasn't bringing in anything horribly smelly, it was an anonymous complaint, and so it felt like a "keep your ethnic icky things out of here" to me, though I'll never know if it was meant that way.
-
@Mama Bird: I think its a bit of both, discouraging strong smells and assuming that at least one person in the building has a sensitivity.
When you mention the food smells, this is kind of how I feel too. How much is living and working together about tolerating others' 'things' that we wouldn't necessarily choose for ourselves?
-
@Autumnmama79: I think there's a difference between "tolerating" something unpleasant and dealing with legit allergies/sensitivities though...
I think it's similar to struggles people have with others understanding food allergies. It's one thing for someone on a diet or with dietary preferences to request something without a certain ingredient or be asked to simply pick it off. If someone is legit allergic though, exposure isn't a simple inconvenience they should suck up and "tolerate." It's just not possible.
-
I get really nauseated by things like essential oils so I would love it and hope that people realize it applies to that stuff too! I had a coworker who constantly applied a “headache roller” and I had fantasies about lighting it on fire.
-
@MsMini: Bahahahaha that made me lol
-
Would I like it? No - I love having scent around me.
Would I comply? Absolutely! And, I'd keep my feelings about it to myself. I have severe food allergies and while I don't make a big deal about it, I always appreciate it when someone is thoughtful about it. I always want to be respectful to other's needs.
-
@Autumnmama79: This isn’t really about tolerating other people’s “things”, this is a legit allergy that is triggered by strong scents. It’s less “stop microwaving fish” and more “stop force feeding me peanuts” (This is obviously an exaggeration, but it does cause real physical symptoms). It sucks that it’s on the people around to change their habits to protect the people with the allergy, but it is what it is.
-
This comment has been deleted by the original poster.
-
Never heard of it, but in the adult world I think except for a few specific environments it's just unnecessary.
But people can do in their buildings and businesses whatever they want!
they overdose!
Subscribe to our newsletter
- Google Plus
- Stumbleupon
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Pinterest
- Favorite0
45 comments