to murder disgusting smell-obsessed woman at work

[Snuffalo]

I swear she has some kind of fetish. In the morning she tells us about the 'whiffy' (seriously) people she encountered on the bus. When she comes back from the toilet she invariably says things like 'smells like someone crawled in the pipes and died'. Today I was just about to take my first bite of some boring sliced edam cheese (that smells of nothing) on a fucking Ryvita and she says 'ooh good, it's your lunch, I thought it might be your feet for a minute there! Cheesy feet haha!' and I was so annoyed and disgusted I got up and threw the whole lot in the trash.

I'm the manager of her manager and I'm seriously considering raising this as a performance issue...

I suffer from OCD and one of mine are different smells. I do notice smells more than others and sometimes in small chit chat I might make a joke.

I think you seriously overreacted.

Your a manager of a manager of her. You are her senior and as such, you need to act in a responsible manner.
You take her to one side and you have a word that you & others even, have noticed what you deem several inappropriate comments about aromas. You ask if she is ok, as she does seem to have overly sensitive sense of smell (this actually can indicate some health issues - you don’t say that - you just ask/mention that she mentions smells a lot, to make the point).
You ask her to maybe think before she speaks incase her comments could offend.
You do it kindly and professionally.
End of!
No need for overreactions, or posts o the internet. You are a manager if staff, do manage your staff.

She sounds very annoying- also cannot understand people who are constantly obsessed with smells and hygiene on public transport. Used to work with someone like that. She was very angry and bitter in general.

Should say
“You are a manager of staff, so manage your staff”.

It is pretty disrespectful, especially to her boss's boss. I would just tell her to give it a rest in your best 'boss' voice. What she does next will dictate your next actions. If she carries on, then I would ask her boss to have a quiet word.

It doesn't matter whether she has a well developed sense of smell. Her comments are unecessary and rude.

Quick flush straight after the heavens open before the rest of the ritual or reading or whatever people do... does wonders for cutting down the whiffs

YABU for saying “trash”, unless you’re american!

Totall over reaction. You "managers" seem to have lost touch with the workforce. Speak to the woman one to one. I no thats a unbelievable thing to do. No raising things and emails just be normal and on the same level. You will be much more respected. Take the stick out ya bum and get down and dirty with the minions 😁

I'm uncomfortable with the idea you would raise this as a performance issue, you are abusing your permission

Rudeness is partially defined by making others feel uncomfortable especially by commenting on another's personal habits, appearance, etc.

The comments are rude. You should be professional at work. This also means being a manager and managing this behavior politely and professionally.

Ask her if she’s pregnant or just rude

I’d be tempted to start commenting on her smell. If she smells even slightly of perfume/fabric conditioner - OMG IT SMELLS LIKE A TART’S BOUDOIR IN HERE DID YOU SKIP A SHOWER AND SPRAY ON FEBREZE HAHA JUST JOKES MATE.

If she’s got cats/dogs etc WOW IT REALLY SMELLS OF CATS ROUND YOUR DESK ARE YOU A CRAZY CAT LADY HARHARHAR

If she ever has a slight sweat on in the summer JESUS CHRIST DID YOU JUST RUN A MARATHON YOU SMELL LIKE A PE KIT COME HOME AT HALF TERM LOL

@LakieLady I think part of being a grown-up is developing the ability to work with a wide range of irritating fuckwits without killing them or throwing your lunch in the bin, tbh.

This in spades!

Good one Daphne

I use the bus twice daily. To me the worst imposition is women with noticeable perfume but I wouldn't let my discomfort register on my face.

Human smells are more forgivable and it's poor form to allude to them, or wrinkle your nose if a drunk or incontinent person sits near you, or a colleague with unbrushed teeth looms over you, or whatever. There but for the Grace of God... pregnancy, fistulas, Crohn's, there are so many conditions that can affect this! It could happen to anyone.

Or even just step in dogshit getting onto the bus, then everyone is giving you the evils for 45mins? Nice.

But Mumsnet collectively thinks its own shit doesn't stink, I have known that for 10+ years!

One of my old line managers banned toast from the office. Apparently the smell was offensive and vulgar when clients had appointments after lunch.

Next time she complains about the toilets, ask her if she enjoyed her big dump.

I thought it said smelly obese woman at first! 😂

Can we have one thread that doesnt descend into mass 'ASD' diagnosing? (does that term even still exist?)

What gets me is no one seems to see that OP is just talking utter shite and is taking the piss. Oh dear!!

I think when you work in close proximity with people (e.g. an office space) you notice little ‘tics’ and obsessions they have, and these can magnify.
I also get that some people are more sensitive to things perceived to be ‘disgusting’ than others. I know people who would throw their lunch away if you told them it smelt like feet.
You’ve got to work with her though, so what can you do except ask her to tone it down and hope she gets the message?

It's not a performance issue. Just tell her to pack it in as it's irritating you.

Sounds like she's cursed with a "super sniffer", but it doesn't mean everyone else needs to hear about it.

Haven't RTFT, just a couple of pages. Apologies if this has been said,
Maybe she's in the wrong job and should be a perfume tester or a wine buff, if she has such a sensitive nose. A friend of mine was a tester for new flavours for Walkers Crisps. (although she did have a degree in Microbiology and Food Science)
I'd suggest it.