A
male
age
22-25,
Boonridge McPhalify
writes:hello, today at work i was pissed of quite a bit as my boss said that a passenger (i work in airport security) had complained about my body odour. now i have clean clothes and a shower before work every day and wear deodourant, no-one has even made a passing comment before and at work they are a mouthy lot (understatment). Anyway what really pissed me off was that after the complaint the team leader came over to me in a very obvious fashion and started sniffing the air and walked right through me. it was after this that i was informed.now i can appreciate that we all sweat and that some passengers will moan about everything but i had at that period been doing body searches non-stop(standing up and bending over repeatedly) and was over hot. anyway i just feel that the whole thing was an episode that would not have happened in any other job that i have had up until now (and i have worked with some smelly people before).Also i have to have my hands near some very smelly shoes and on very sweaty people all the time so maybe i just feel that this was over the top.anyway i dislike the job a lot as it is extremely confrontational. i have a degree in psychology 2:2, but have been thinking that lately i want to do an apprenticeship as an electrician and forget about the degree for now (someone advised me to do another degree in psychiatry but i feel that my sunk costs are gone and should be forgot about). any advice welcome.
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at work, my boss, period Reply to this Question |
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male
reader, Boonridge McPhalify +, writes (4 July 2008):
Boonridge McPhalify is verified as being by the original poster of the question cheers-i'm all good now but it had me in a flap.
thanks for the help
A
male
reader, Frank B Kermit  +, writes (4 July 2008):
 The team leader was doing harassment on you. No question.
I once was in charge of a guy that had bad body odor in an office environment. One day, I took him aside in an area that no one could hear or see us, and I politely but firmly told him that his body odor was unpleasant. He said that he forgot it that day. I pretended to beleive him, to let him save face. The fact is, the entire department was laughing at him behind his back (it was an ongoing problem) and came up with a nickname for him. I was the only one that took the time to speak to him. He appreciated the honesty and it was never a problem again.
The thing I wonder is if your boss put this into your employee file, or if this was kept between the two of you.
If your team leader continues to act up, you must confront him and let him know that his behaviors are harassment. Before you do this, check out company policy to see what the defination of harrassment is and what you need as proof. Play it smart.
In the meanwhile I suggest a few things.
1-Look for another job. That environment is TOXIC and will hurt you emotionally. Those injuries take longer to heal.
Perferablly take a job that will require work that can allow your mind to free up so you can do some creative thinking for you future.
2-Start a website blog. They are inexpensive. You studied psyc? Good, start making a daily journal about your thoughts of psyc. Through this also include reviews of books and other sources. Just because school is over does not mean to stop learning. If you are interested in a new career, post your notes and summaries of the stuff you are studying.
3-Finish your degree. Very few people ever go back later. Life takes over.
4-Find a unique approach in what you study. For example, Psychology in the work place, so you can use this experience for something relevant. Maybe sell a book you self publish from all your blog posts.
-Frank B Kermithttp://www.franktalks.com
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A
male
reader, q1605  +, writes (4 July 2008):
 there are people who go around and belittle others with no remorse. Usually by the time they finish filing a complaint they are so far over the top they have no credibility. Anyone can see they are boorish asswipes that have nothing better to do then cause friction where ever they go. I worked in a womans house once and she called the shop to complain. She didn't know she was talking to me on the phone and i wasn't about to tell her. I didn't know what to make of what she said because the installer didn't remember it the way she did. I knew exactly how the installer left things because it was me. I was really scratching my head trying to reconcile things when she went off on a tangent about how she has had to call and complain about each and every person that has touched her house since the remodel started. Only then did I realize she was full of shit. To some people that is part of the sale. The post installation complaint. Give a 98 cent discount or a coupon for a hotdog and they go away happy. I wonder where older sister worked? Sounds savage.
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A
female
reader, Ask oldersister +, writes (3 July 2008):
 I'm sorry! They obviously didn't handle this as well as diplomatically as they could have so don't worry, it's not your career. Certainly anyone can understand that sometimes this happens and really, it was just one customer and they could have made it up? I wouldn't worry about that. Most of my jobs have been filled with very confrontational people and loads of gossip. A couple of years ago, I was in a situation where this guy at work got obsessed with me and began giving other people the impression we were sleeping together. He was HIDEOUS and he looked like some vacant eyed frog with pasty white skin and would sweat all the time. People had the nerve to come up to me and ask me if it was true?! I was so furious and I confronted him and thankfully, he quit but you know, I'm sure people want to believe that actually happened. I think I'd rather have body odor for a day than having to deal with that. Let's see, there was a girl at my work that told someone she trusted she shoved a tampon up her husband's ass without lubrication and it took 2 days for him to get it out "naturally"- that's all anyone could think of when they looked at her for years. Someone finally told her everyone knew and she wanted to quit but stuck it out! One of my best friends who is hysterical was in his cubicle making noises like the girl from the exorcist as a joke and he was called into HR the next day and had to undergo a psychological evaluation- he was horrified and paranoid because he didn't know who reported him, it was just a joke! He wanted to quit and that was 5 yrs ago and he still works there. My mother had never seen hair extensions in person before and this lady at her job had some so my mom touched them and was like "wow, these look so real". The lady reported her for sexual harrassment and the HR staff kept saying "we don't discriminate on sexual preference" implying she was some lesbian hitting on other women at work! Eventually that died down and she still worked there for a few years after.
Your odor incident is really minor although it doesn't feel that way right now, it is! You have plenty more horrendous experiences awaiting you!
I'll spare you the "female on their period" stories at work that would make the Manson murders look tame.
As far as your psychology degree, I think that's admirable and of course you should go to grad school!
Look, the reactions I've seen to people going through something REALLY embarrassing is that people will be too horrified to make jokes about it. Like with me, I noticed something was different in the way people were behaving towards me and that was an awful feeling.
Hang in their, soldier.
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A
female
reader, marieclaire  +, writes (3 July 2008):
 it was completely over the top. nothing to quit your job over but if its what you want anyway and it gives you the impetus then go for it
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