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My stupid boss put up air freshener, after I asked them not to, before Mr. Richard even ordered it. One of those little sprayer thing that squirts our air freshener every few minutes for thirty minutes, then turns off for thirty minutes then on again for the next thirty minutes. However, since I didn't notice it when I came in, she thinks I'm completely making up this "I have asthma and air freshener keeps me from being able to breathe" thing. She already concluded long ago that her smoking abviously couldn't be much of a problem. After finally agreeing the move the air freshener, with much complaining about how she just wants a nice smelling office, she picks it up and moves it into the office next to us, which is connected to us by a door that is always open so it does no freaking good. How in goodness do I politely manage this??????
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I am going to steal it as soon as she's gone-but there are more more more and they have an unending supply in the warehouse-all different kinds, and she's just fine with trying lots of different kinds in hope of finding one I'll stop pretending bothers me-never mind about all the ones that WILL in the experimentation process, Anna doesn't SHOW any symptoms so it must not be THAT bad. Do I sound angry? Just a little bit.
Posts: 3493 | Registered: Jul 2001
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posted
she's in school. I could get the doctor to call, but that would just make her mad, which wouldn't help anything. And I should not have to prove anything to begin with. She has no reason to think I'm lying, what cause would I have, I've never lied before, it would be a stupid thing to lie about and she knows I don't try to get out of work.
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You work in an office where smoking is allowed? That's pretty surprising. Your employer is obligated to provide a safe working environment for you. Obviously, they're not. You have every right to ask that the smoking stop and the air freshener be moved to a place where it won't bother you.
Here's my advice, from an HR perspective. Write a letter to your boss stating that both the smoking and the air freshener are aggravating your asthma. Be very polite, but firm. Keep a copy of the letter. If the situation is not remedied in 2 weeks, send a copy of the letter to your boss's superior.
Yes, it will probably have a negative effect on your relationship with your boss. But, frankly, it sounds like she's not too interested in a friendly work environment anyway. If you're goint to have to work with an unpleasant person, you might as well make sure that it's in a place that won't make you sick.
"Hello, Mrs. So-and-so. If I could just have a minute of your time? Thanks. I'll be stopping by my doctor's for a physical this week, and I thought maybe he/she could clear up this asthma thing. The air freshener is still a problem, but I can see why this may be difficult to understand [namely, because you're a nitwit, but don't say that!], so I thought it might be helpful to have my doctor explain it in a letter. No? You don't need that? Well okay, but as I'm having him/her write it all out for me clearly, so I can understand it too, just let me know if the situation is still unclear, and I'll drop off a copy in your box. Thanks!"
Edit: No, what Mrs. M said. Way more useful.
Toretha, people who abuse power like to work with young, naive, self-critical people (and so many young women are easy to bully ). This person sounds like a bully. However, when you start to speak their language -- e.g., careful documentation -- then many managerial bullies will back down. Good luck.
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Even if you didn't have asthma, isn't an overpowering stench in an office reason enough for things to change?
Posts: 2220 | Registered: Jun 1999
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That sucks, Toretha. I suggest faking death and wheezing very loudly if you don't want to take up Mrs. M and CT's excellent suggestions.
Posts: 4816 | Registered: Apr 2003
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Nah, if you're going to fake anything (and I don't recommend that you do so!), anaphylactic shock is the way to go. Very dramatic. Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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What kind of a job is it that you have? In the past, when I've felt like I wasn't being listened to and was blown off by the management where I worked, it motivated me to get a better job. I'm not saying that you should have to quit to get out of the situation, but it might be an option. A boss like that can't be a whole lot of fun to work for in general.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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Mrs. M-actually, I work at the Louisiana School for the Deaf. It's a public school, and smoking isn't allowed on campus. Unfortunately, I"m in the Maintenance dept, and the man in charge of the whole department has said as long as they're not seen it's ok to smoke. So while there is no smoking in the actual office, there is a constant smell of smoke due to it coming in one everyone clothes. My boss takes a smoking break about 15 minutes of every hour, so the smoke smell is continual.
Celia-
Ryuko-my former boss said that too-but I'm a rotten liar, and it would feel kinda manipulative even if I could pull it off
Noeman-I'm a student worker, and I really like it, aside from the boss aspect. Also, it's perfect for me because I'm on the debate team, so I have to miss days often and often on fairly short notice, and the people at the tippity top of the power ladder at the school for the deaf have given orders that student workers are to be allowed off for any reason, at any time. So I can get off for debate meets without repercussions, and just make up the work later, which makes it really worth putting up with.
Posts: 3493 | Registered: Jul 2001
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Toretha, could you wear a very very strong perfume that she happens to hate? Or bring 3 kilos of bananas every day with you and leave the peeled skin in her trash: the smell is pretty strong too. How about a discreet but persistent little cough for half an hour every hour?
Posts: 34 | Registered: Oct 2003
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Call NICE (the Network for the Instigation of Clement Evil, for those of you who haven't heard of it.) I just bet they can come up with an excellent solution to this problem.
You spend a huge amount of effort controlling your coughing, I know. I know how exhausted you've been from the need for constant control on days when there has been something irritating your asthma and kicking in your cough reflexes. My suggestion is that you completely stop trying not to cough while at work, and that you cough just as much as her various smells make you feel the urge to do so. Do that from now on. However, do more than that.
Go to her and say "Miss Candi, I've been having terrible problems with my asthma because of the smell of smoke that's always on you and because of the air freshener that you put up. If you don't take these down I am going to have to quit. I can't afford to be sick all the time. I don't want to quit, though, because I like this job, so before I do that I will go to the highest levels and try to get this remedied, first. I really don't want to be in a position of getting you in trouble. Would you please remove the air freshener and quit smoking during work hours so I don't have to do that? Thank you."
Write all that in a note, even. If she doesn't then go to her boss(es) about it. You have a right to a workplace that doesn't make you sick. Particularly the LSD should realize that they are required to make reasonable accomodations.
Don't think you can do this and not annoy this lady. You can't. But YOU don't have to get annoyed. You just have to exercise your rights. If you want to be particularly kind then you can go out of your way to do nice things for this lady to make up. But I don't believe she will notice that or appreciate it, and I don't think you really need to do that. Your anger only comes from your feeling of powerlessness. Exercise the power you have and your anger will evaporate, to be replaced with sympathy.
[ October 23, 2003, 06:42 PM: Message edited by: ana kata ]
Posts: 968 | Registered: Sep 2003
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This is a public school?! How can the man in charge of maintenance have told his department that it's okay to break a rule as long as no one catches you? That doesn't bode well for how he runs his department. If you don't want to quit or make any official complaints, is there any way you can arrange for the smokers to be "accidentally" caught by the powers that be?
If I was a parent in that school, I'd be pretty upset if people were smoking on campus.
Just make sure your inhaler is on hand at all times.
Posts: 3037 | Registered: Jan 2002
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(this is Toretha, I just was too lazy to log out from my sister's name)
Tancath, that would be FUN-except any perfume or banana peels, I'd react to loooong before she even noticed they were there.
Posts: 910 | Registered: May 2000
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Take the fight to them. Take your case to as high a level as it takes. Principals, Superintendents, commissioners. Whatever the hell it takes.
And if the pointy-haired bosses who are currently making you miserable object, or fire you in retaliation? Take their sorry rears to court. Any half decent lawyer could make them pay through the nose. Wrongful loss of employment, discrimination, violation of public school rules...wipe the floor with them. Get the morons fired in disgrace. Then find a job where your management gives a care.
My fifteen cents worth.
Posts: 3658 | Registered: Jan 2002
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Anna--You may borrow my Lucretia Borgia ring if you like. We can fill it with iocane powder. It is odorless, tasteless, dissolves instantly in liquid, and is among the more deadly poisons known to man. I'd be glad to help out in that or any other way I can.
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...maybe you could develop a very ennoying habit like humming endlessly a lullaby tune or open the windows wide every morning at the precise moment that she takes her coat off. Good luck Posts: 34 | Registered: Oct 2003
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). This person sounds like a bully. However, when you start to speak their language -- e.g., careful documentation -- then many managerial bullies will back down. Good luck.
