@VioletButterfly I am sorry to hear you are struggling with your current employment.
I can't think of anything to help with the smell. Being a smoker myself, I don't notice it so much. Though I try to be conscientious of other peoples olfactory sensitivity.
Weirdly the profanity thing is actually becoming more common in workplaces. Some feel it provides an easier going environment. Though I can absolutely see why it offends people.
"F' this, F' that, hey wanna get some F'in coffee? F' that, it's F'in cold out! F'in-A. F'F'F'F'... What the F' is wrong with you? I stubbed my F'in toe! Why aren't you wearing your F'in steel toes? F' you that's why." Pretty typical conversation around my workplace. Mind you it is blue collar, so it seems less out of place, than in a while collar setting.
I have couple of ideas for you, if you mind the suggestion.
- Headphones, just one in your ear can really help cut out a lot of noise with something more agreeable to listen to.
- I know alot of office settings have rules about perfumes due to allergies, but it might be permitted for you to have a small flower arrangement on your desk. It's got to smell better than that stale cigarette stench.
- For dealing with rudeness, there really is no easy way to deal with it. I am one of those people who says please and thank you. Even if I don't feel like it. No matter what situation I'm in. The most non confrontational way to put it across, could simply be to lay it on good and thick. Make a real point of it when anyone asks for something. Don't use contractions, say the full words. Someone hands you something "Thank you very much" big smile, try to sound genuine. It may make people a bit less rude, seeing as you are the one acting like an adult. Or it may piss them right off, either way can be to your advantage. The other thing you can do is far more confrontational, but it is still civil. I learned this when I worked in retail. When someone would be extremely rude to me. If they were to whistle at me or snap their fingers. I would ignore them entirely. Still happens in my current job from time to time. Only once from anyone ever. When they decide to use proper language to communicate. The only response I ever have is. "I am not a dog." Then I walk away. I will have nothing further to do with them, unless they apologize. Then maybe. Otherwise they can try again tomorrow. Do unto others. I am a firm believer in that.
The first two things I suggested hopefully are the kind of thing that can be done to improve your working environment, without making anyone else have to accommodate you. Making your job easier without pissing anyone else off.
I do also know very well about having to bumble through a job when you don't know what you are doing. It is very stressful, absolutely. I don't envy you that.
My first day doing this job, I was shown the very basics, by a supervisor from a totally different department. Then off I went.
First thing I did, truck full of dairy products. First skid I pulled off the truck, whipping cream. 9 quarts per crate, 9 crates per layer, 6 layers high. 120 gallons (if my metric to imperial conversion is roughly accurate) of whipping cream. Guess what happened?
CRASH!!
Oh @#&*.....
Did you know that whipping cream actually makes a very bassy deep Bluuuurrgh sound when you dump that much of it all at once? It does. I'll never forget that sound. It's also incredibly slippery, that took me a while to cleanup. Lol
Shortly after that, the driver that was out sitting his cab came in to see what was taking so long. This is when I found that the offload was actually done. No idea where the guy disappeared to, or why he didn't sign the BOL (bill of lading) and send the driver on his way. To add insult to injury, it wasn't even our whipping cream. I destroyed hundreds of dollars of someone else's stuff. Oops.
Eventually I figured it out. That was a rough 6 or so months till I got the hang of it.
Sorry this took so long to write out, been a busy couple of days. Christmas time is coming, which means Christmas stock is shipping. So many advent calendars. Lol.
