Allergies/Sensitivities - The Social Responsibility?

[Linus]

Originally Posted by Medusa

Let's revisit!

The "scent free" lady at work has now sent a formal request that all employees be required to eat their lunch in the lunch room rather than eating at their desks while working because she said the smell of food makes her sick.

Is this reasonable to you?

I would say that 80% of the employees on our floor do a "working lunch" and gnosh at their desk rather than eating in the lunch area (which would be too small for everyone to be accomodated at one time). This will have a pretty severe impact on all employees if the company decides to institute this policy. (I dont think they will because most of upper management realizes they get an extra hour a day out of us while we work through our lunches at our desk)

This person has also advocated for a completely "scent free" environment in the common areas and has removed all the air fresheners from the women's restroom. It appears that she is severely allergic to smells or at least severely affected by them.

At what point does a workplace need to accomodate?

So I have a question: if the smell of food is making her sick, what does she eat? I realize how sensitive odour allergies can be but I have to say this is a first. I would suggest to management that perhaps telecommuting might be a better option for this employee so that they can better control their work environment (i.e., home) if it is that extreme.

[Medusa]

Originally Posted by Linus

So I have a question: if the smell of food is making her sick, what does she eat? I realize how sensitive odour allergies can be but I have to say this is a first. I would suggest to management that perhaps telecommuting might be a better option for this employee so that they can better control their work environment (i.e., home) if it is that extreme.

Ha! Good point! I get that sometimes people heat up really odorous things in the microwave and that it can sometimes be really foul (hello! fish in curry sauce!) but I gotta say that she seems to be sensitive to even the "smell" of hot tea. It was suggested to her to just work from home all the time and her reponse was that she wanted an office so that she could shut her door.

We'll see where it goes!

[Rockinonahigh]

Originally Posted by Medusa

Ha! Good point! I get that sometimes people heat up really odorous things in the microwave and that it can sometimes be really foul (hello! fish in curry sauce!) but I gotta say that she seems to be sensitive to even the "smell" of hot tea. It was suggested to her to just work from home all the time and her reponse was that she wanted an office so that she could shut her door.

We'll see where it goes!

I wonder how sje would feel in wearing a mask or something that covers the smell of food...but if hot tea bothers her I wonder if she is looing for atention or exagurateing the allergies...she could close her office door.

[Rockinonahigh]

Originally Posted by Rockinonahigh

I wonder how sje would feel in wearing a mask or something that covers the smell of food...but if hot tea bothers her I wonder if she is looing for atention or exagurateing the allergies...she could close her office door.

OOOppps,pain pills are causeing more typos than useal, sorry.

[Linus]

Originally Posted by Medusa

Ha! Good point! I get that sometimes people heat up really odorous things in the microwave and that it can sometimes be really foul (hello! fish in curry sauce!) but I gotta say that she seems to be sensitive to even the "smell" of hot tea. It was suggested to her to just work from home all the time and her reponse was that she wanted an office so that she could shut her door.

We'll see where it goes!

Could she being going beyond what she is actually experiencing just to get an office?

[Corkey]

Sounds psychosomatic to me.... But then I don't know her LOL

[1QuirkyKiwi]

Originally Posted by Linus

Could she being going beyond what she is actually experiencing just to get an office?

I was going to ask this, too! LOL!

[Novelafemme]

My youngest goes to a "allergy aware" school where the kids are allowed to bring any food they personally enjoy, but they are NOT allowed to share food with their friends. This rule is strictly enforced by lunch room monitors.

Both she and I share some common allergens such as certain wire-haired animals, cleaning products like 4O9 and other aerosol solutions, avocado and mango meat, cigarettes/cigars, etc. Most of our symptoms are relatively mild...for instance, she gets hives around her mouth when eating mango fruit, but does that stop her? Nope! My chemical sensitivity has literally exploded over the past year to where I have to read the ingredients on almost all cleaning products before using. I recently rented a carpet cleaner and grabbed a bottle of the liquid sold with the rental machine and ended up in the urgent care due to a horrible allergic reaction. They did a breathing treatment and I felt five gazillion times better, but now carry an inhaler in my purse in case it happens again. That scared the shit out of me!!!

In terms of my expectations of others in the work place or out in public...um, that's MY problem! Personally, I would never expect someone to accommodate me based on my food/environmental allergies. If I was allergic to garlic, then I would make sure to bring food that didn't need to be heated up or stored somewhere it could be exposed to it. If smells gave me migraines, then I would honestly need to consider working from home. Scent allergies are much more difficult to navigate than food allergies. Perfumes/colognes I understand not wanting to smell all day if they stink or give me a headache, then it becomes an HR issue. But if the smell of food makes you ill, then it's a personal problem and it's on you to handle it so the problem doesn't become everyone else's. If molecules containing peanut atoms have the potential to cause anaphylactic shock, then you ought not be flying on commercial airlines if you can help it. Otherwise, I'm sure one can locate a hazmat suit in an emergency.

[atomiczombie]

That smell of food thing is a bit ridiculous in my opinion.

I have a sensitivity to certain scents and chemicals. I get bad headaches from heavy perfumes and the strong smell of bleach. Some paints and stains give me headaches too. If I walk through the perfume/cologne section of a department store, I end up with a headache pretty fast. I feel like I can't breathe for fear of a headache. I have food allergies to certain nuts, carrots, and fruit.

But that's nothing compared to my best friend. He has an allergy to sea food that is as bad as any I have ever seen. He can't go near it without getting hives and if he is close enough to it, he throws up. If he accidentally eats some, for example eats something that has some elements of it like fish sauce (often in Vietnamese food) he with go into shock and needs multiple epi pens and a trip to the ER.

He has to ask his friends not to eat sea food around him (of course I am happy to do that for him). He avoids the sea food section in grocery stores. He won't go to restaurants like Red Lobster which mainly serve fish. It is a reality he has to deal with and he accepts it. I know he feels bad sometimes asking his friends to accommodate him, but there really is no choice in the matter, because they aren't really friends if they won't care enough about his health to avoid sea food when around him. He doesn't expect the whole world to change for his convenience. He just does his best to navigate it while protecting his health.

[LaneyDoll]

Originally Posted by atomiczombie

That smell of food thing is a bit ridiculous in my opinion.

I have a sensitivity to certain scents and chemicals. I get bad headaches from heavy perfumes and the strong smell of bleach. Some paints and stains give me headaches too. If I walk through the perfume/cologne section of a department store, I end up with a headache pretty fast. I feel like I can't breathe for fear of a headache. I have food allergies to certain nuts, carrots, and fruit.

But that's nothing compared to my best friend. He has an allergy to sea food that is as bad as any I have ever seen. He can't go near it without getting hives and if he is close enough to it, he throws up. If he accidentally eats some, for example eats something that has some elements of it like fish sauce (often in Vietnamese food) he with go into shock and needs multiple epi pens and a trip to the ER.

He has to ask his friends not to eat sea food around him (of course I am happy to do that for him). He avoids the sea food section in grocery stores. He won't go to restaurants like Red Lobster which mainly serve fish. It is a reality he has to deal with and he accepts it. I know he feels bad sometimes asking his friends to accommodate him, but there really is no choice in the matter, because they aren't really friends if they won't care enough about his health to avoid sea food when around him. He doesn't expect the whole world to change for his convenience. He just does his best to navigate it while protecting his health.

My mom has a weird allergy to shellfish-she can eat it but not touch it. But she loves crab legs and will order them and eat them wearing gloves. She alerts the wait staff to the allergy and I promise, NOTHING gets you attentive service like an "allergic" person eating the item they are allergic to.