# New and Unimproved Workplace Rants **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 14, 2015, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638 "2015-10-14T15:44:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 81
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/1601 "2018-03-20T23:04:55Z")
> [@JcWoman](#): > > It’s actually not, although I appreciate why you say that. I’ve been in both places, most often in the one that Kiz is lamenting but without the physical issues. I’ve always gotten pigeonholed doing what they hired me for, no matter how much extra responsibility I take on, no matter how good my performance evaluations are, or for how many years they’re consistently excellent… I once took copies of similar company performance evaluations of me with, and showed them to a job interviewer at another company. That company offered me a job, and increased the slary offer to better than what I was then making. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2018, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/1602 "2018-03-21T00:32:52Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Bonus points for including a transcript of the email, or part of it, or even an “in your own words”… but we at least need to hear your coworkers’ reactions to it. > > Ooh, extra super mega bonus if you get in touch with the ex-employee and pass on how/what they’re doing. I hope the answer is “Awesome! Already found a better job.” > > We care, man, don’t leave us hangin’. Sorry no follow up, and said person worked in a different department in another state so I never met them. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2018, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/1603 "2018-03-21T02:14:03Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Sorry no follow up, and said person worked in a different department in another state so I never met them. Thanks – appreciate the follow-up, even if it’s your fault I’ve been wondering about it for three weeks. If you can get me his personal details, I’ll drive cross-country, stalk his parking spot, accidentally bump his car and invite him out for a drink as an apology. Then we’ll get the real dirt on that hellhole of a workplace. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2018, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/1604 "2018-03-27T22:33:07Z")
One of the ladies in the contract department has taken to wearing so much lotion/cologne/scented whatever that everything she touches absolutely reeks of some thick, floral fragrance. She brought me some documents for review today, and I had to set them on the other side of my office so they could air out a bit. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2018, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/1605 "2018-03-28T00:45:28Z")
> [@WolfpackJeep](#): > > One of the ladies in the contract department has taken to wearing so much lotion/cologne/scented whatever that everything she touches absolutely reeks of some thick, floral fragrance. She brought me some documents for review today, and I had to set them on the other side of my office so they could air out a bit. 😕 Go to HR. Tomorrow. If you are not allergic, someone else in the department is, and needs your support. I got a sinus headache just reading your description. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2018, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/1606 "2018-03-28T03:42:31Z")
> [@j666](#): > > Go to HR. Tomorrow. If you are not allergic, someone else in the department is, and needs your support. I got a sinus headache just reading your description. I agree. And I can attest to the fact that direct communication may not work. After weeks of all six of us coworkers in her office whining “I can’t talk to her, YOU talk to her!” I… talked to her. I got stony silence, so I apologized if I was being too honest and backed away… and late that night, she moved her office to the next floor up. Sorry, 3rd floor victims! ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2018, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/1607 "2018-03-28T15:48:59Z")
HR is not your friend. Can you complain to your manager and her manager that this is making it difficult for you to handle and process documents that she’s handled? ---
**Author:** ![Kelevra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/97f17d/32.png) [@Kelevra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelevra)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2018, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/1608 "2018-03-28T15:51:55Z")
> [@WolfpackJeep](#): > > One of the ladies in the contract department has taken to wearing so much lotion/cologne/scented whatever that everything she touches absolutely reeks of some thick, floral fragrance. She brought me some documents for review today, and I had to set them on the other side of my office so they could air out a bit. 😕 I worked with this lady! She drove a new truck to a work function and her perfume impregnated the seat belt shoulder strap. It took weeks to disappear. 10 years later we still call that truck “The French Whore”! ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/1609 "2018-03-29T00:37:21Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > HR is not your friend. > > Can you complain to your manager and her manager that this is making it difficult for you to handle and process documents that she’s handled? I don’t want HR to be my friend, just to do their job, and this is one thing HR is actually good at. “It has been brought to our attention …” No one else should have to tell someone they stink. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/1610 "2018-03-29T00:51:17Z")
[ul] [li]The good news: I’m gainfully employed once more.[/li][li]The bad news: My salary is back to the starting salary I had at my last job, so it’s a pay cut.[/li][li]The annoying news: being kept on as a contractor for an additional two weeks because of end-of-financial-year stuff, so my actual start date is Tax Day this year.[/li][li]The interesting news: the original target salary (which I didn’t know) was significantly lower than I’m actually getting. It’s a small company, so I am glad that they recognize my worth.[/li][/ul] It’s a bit of a mixed bag, but I guess it comes down on the positive side. The atmosphere is really nice, which is a big change from the grim hang-on by the fingernails of the last, and they make products that will help make healthcare better for many people. ---
**Author:** ![tenacious\_j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@tenacious\_j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tenacious_j)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/1611 "2018-03-29T01:01:11Z")
> [@digs](#): > > I agree. > > And I can attest to the fact that direct communication may not work. After weeks of all six of us coworkers in her office whining “I can’t talk to her, YOU talk to her!” I… talked to her. I, too, agreed to be the one to talk to her, but I emailed. No guts. She could get mean. After weeks of coughing and sneezing from 50 feet away, then walking in to the bathroom one day and watching her spray her entire self, then take her shoes off and spray her feet, I thought it was necessary to mention that she was literally making people sick. She said was insecure about smelling bad because she knew stinky people, but she cut way back after that. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/1612 "2018-03-29T01:31:20Z")
Fuck hotels that offer wifi but do not give it; this one is number four in a row. It works in the reception area but not in the room. In the previous one it didn’t even work in the reception area. Why a workplace rant? Because if I can’t invoice I don’t get paid damnit, and I didn’t come to this hotel for fun, it’s a business trip. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/1613 "2018-03-29T05:34:30Z")
> [@tenacious\_j](#): > > watching her spray her entire self, then take her shoes off and spray her feet, I thought it was necessary to mention that she was literally making people sick. My long time ‘mean guy’ comment on such things; _“You’re aware that one bottle contains more than one application, right?”_ ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/1614 "2018-03-29T12:52:23Z")
We have a guy here that bathes in cologne. Thank goodness I don’t have to work with him! Just getting trapped in the elevator with him is a lesson on how long I can hold my breath… ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/1615 "2018-03-29T13:08:26Z")
I have no sense of smell, but there is a lady here whose personal atmosphere I can detect. I once went into a small room with her, and was compelled to cough. I started to ask her if she smelled fumes or anything, but realized in time that she was actually the source. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/1616 "2018-03-29T13:45:47Z")
> [@Rebo](#): > > We have a guy here that bathes in cologne. Thank goodness I don’t have to work with him! Just getting trapped in the elevator with him is a lesson on how long I can hold my breath… At my old job we had two guys with overpowering cologne. We used to joke that they were purposefully assigned offices at opposite ends of the hall to reduce the chance that their funk clouds would collide and cause some sort of spatial rift. ---
**Author:** ![adhemar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@adhemar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhemar)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/1617 "2018-03-29T14:40:10Z")
[quote=“Chimera, post:1613, topic:734638”] My long time ‘mean guy’ comment on such things; _“You’re aware that one bottle contains more than one application, right?”_[/QUOTE Perfume companies sell people on “layering” scent so they can make more money. Scented body wash, body lotion, hand cream, spray cologne and concentrated perfume for the pulse points. Blech. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/1618 "2018-03-29T15:17:16Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > My long time ‘mean guy’ comment on such things; > > _“You’re aware that one bottle contains more than one application, right?”_ Mine is “Nice perfume/cologne, but must you marinate in it?” ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/1619 "2018-03-29T15:36:09Z")
I have a coworker who, due to cultural beliefs, is not supposed to smoke. But she does. Like crazy. After every break she sprays herself down. I’ve spoken with her. Spoken with my boss. Spoken with her boss. Now I just bluntly hold my nose whenever she is close by. Rude? Probably. Care? Not one whit. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/1620 "2018-03-29T23:24:35Z")
Stank update! Yesterday, I found out that my supervisor apparently treats this lady’s offerings the same way I do – places them on a far corner of the desk to air out. Well, it turns out that she accidentally gave him a folder that should have been given to me, and that folder happened to be related to an emergency order, which blew up into a bit of a mess because of the delay in getting the folder to my desk. I’m thinking something must have gotten back to her as a result of this minor kerfuffle, because the most recent stack of folders she left barely has any scent at all. Now if I could convince management to do something about the diesel fuel-soaked reports I occasionally receive from testing. :eek: (I’ve pointed this out in the past, and have been told that I should expect to encounter such things because of the messiness of testing fuel pumps.) > [@j666](#): > > Go to HR. Tomorrow. If you are not allergic, someone else in the department is, and needs your support. I got a sinus headache just reading your description. > [@Chimera](#): > > HR is not your friend. > > Can you complain to your manager and her manager that this is making it difficult for you to handle and process documents that she’s handled? I’m honestly not sure who our HR contact is – we’re a small office that’s part of a larger company, so we don’t have our own HR department. In the past, I’ve taken personnel issues up with my supervisor or manager, but that has never really lead to a solution. I’m not even 100% sure who contract lady reports to, but if it’s who I think it is, he wouldn’t have the nerve to say anything to her. > [@Kelevra](#): > > I worked with this lady! She drove a new truck to a work function and her perfume impregnated the seat belt shoulder strap. It took weeks to disappear. 10 years later we still call that truck “The French Whore”! XD And speaking of overpowering scents in the workplace, the only women’s restroom in the office has recently had an automatic air freshener installed. It periodically delivers spurts out something that smells like artificial strawberry ice cream. WTF. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638.md?page=80) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638.md?page=82)