Whereas Men Smell Like Trucks And Dirt?

Bigotry, Canada, Coworkers, Harassment, Office, Ontario |
Working | May 27, 2020

I work in Human Resources and I’m meeting with a lawyer who is defending our company from an unwarranted sexual harassment claim made by a former employee after she was fired. As I am explaining to him that the company culture here would strongly discourage that sort of activity, my two — male — coworkers walk by, talking to one another super casually.

Coworker #1 : “Aw, man, my hands still smell like girl. All day, that smell never really comes off.”

Coworker #2 : “I know, [Female Coworker #1 ] is always the worst. [Female Coworker #2 ] isn’t too bad, but the smell when it’s [Female Coworker #1 ] just lingers and lingers.”

The lawyer gives me an “oh, really” eyebrow, like I suddenly lost all credibility about our corporate culture.

I call my coworkers to come back and, while trying very hard not sound stressed about the answer, I ask them:

Me: “I just overheard the last bit of that. Why do your hands smell like girl, and what does it have to do with [Female Coworker #1 ]?”

Coworker #1 : “Oh, it must have been her turn to buy the soap for that washroom. It just smells like fruit and girl, and the smell stays for hours. The soap [Female Coworker #2 ] buys smells like girl, but you can’t even smell it after twenty minutes or so.”

They wandered off looking really puzzled about why my visitor was laughing so hard, but all I could think was, “Thank God!”