How to raise this

[OverlyFragrant]

I'm quite sensitive to smells and sounds and a busy office just doesn't work for me. I'm likely autistic but never diagnosed, never felt the need to be, I'm just me.

However, my office has reduced workspace recently and my quiet corner has been removed. I'm now finding myself sat surrounded by very loud colleagues. Usually not that much of an issue, I just plug in some noise cancelling headphones and crack on, but am now finding its just too loud even for them.

Today however really took the biscuit. I was sat some way away from a man who it seemed liberally coated himself in Brut. Even from where I was, 5-6m away it was overpowering. Everytime he moved, raised his arms, a waft would make me feel physically ill. No one else seemed affected by it, but by 3pm I had to leave as it was triggering a migraine (2 hours I now have to make up - yay).

I'm dreading going back and feel I need to raise this as a potential issue, especially if it's making me ill.

How do I even phrase this without coming across as a) pathetic b) bullish and c) rather intolerant.

I would go with a "my goodness has someone been spraying fly spray around, what a stink!!!" As you walk in and hope it lands.

If it doesn't then a few days later casually bring up a comment like "and that whole issue stank like a teenage boy doused in brut"

Was it an aerosol?

we are not allowed sprays and aerosols in the office and recently audited for this on the ISO270001

Complain to your office manager? In our office we recently had a colleague who smelt very bad, I was suffering in silence trying not to be mean and then in passing mentioned it to our office manager (as we are friendly) and she told me that several other people had already complained and she had been told she needed to have a kind word with the colleague in question! I didn’t realise you could complain if people were smelly but turns out you can! You were probably not the only one disturbed by it.

Is he actually spraying it in the office?

In terms of practical advice, you could phrase it as “Now that the office is much closer quarters, could we please instil some general rules to ensure colleague well being and productivity” You could request rules regarding no strong scents and being mindful of noise levels/perhaps suggest the layout changed to create a “quiet” section for focused work?

You could also say phrases like you need “reasonable adjustments” to focus on work and would like to be placed on a quiet corner.

OP meant loads of aftershave on their body

I would raise this with your line manager. Just mention that you have a sensitivity to smells as well as recently it’s become very noisy and would appreciate if seating can be rearranged / you could use a different space. If that’s not possible then get yourself some of those noise cancelling buds just so you can at least concentrate. Manager should be able to address the smell though - either by moving you or having an informal chat with the guy.

Unfortunately it's a hot desking situation. You book a work space and it's pot luck who you sit next to.
There's no quiet spaces now, they've been removed in the name of 'efficiency savings'.
As far Mr Cologne, I think it was just something he doused himself in before work as opposed to spraying himself during work.

You need to say something. I have a fragrance allergy and have similar reactions to strong fragrances. I get headaches, nausea, runny nose, sore mucous membranes. People (and places) are using stronger and stronger fragrances which are designed to be more and more permanent. This is really starting to cause problems for people with not just allergies/r but also asthma and other lung conditions such as COPD.

BUT I’ve found people don’t like to say anything. A young woman I used to work with with asthma told me fragrance in the workplace was making her asthma worse but she felt uncomfortable raising it! And that’s potentially life threatening! I encouraged her to, but if people don’t raise it, nothing will change.

I think the way @Marmiteontoastgirliegas phrased it is very good. It doesn’t matter that they want to use sauce more efficiently, they have to also ensure worker’s health and safety, and if related to a disability, that they make reasonable adjustments.

As an example, my previous workplace removed all air fresheners etc, changed cleaning products, provided me with different soaps and provided an air purifier. If I was working in close proximity with people (this varied) I asked them politely to avoid strong fragrances.

Good luck!