Situation a real stinker

Dear Diane: I work with someone who has a nasty habit of leaving his used takeout containers on his desk overnight. When I get in to work the next day, the smell is just awful. I rarely see this person, so how would you recommend handling this situation? I’d prefer not to leave a note.

— Odor Eater in Oneonta

Dear Oneonta: So … you’d like to solve a problem without communicating?

To solve this problem, you need to get your message to your co-worker. Either you speak with your supervisor and have him or her deal with the situation, or you need to personally tell the offending co-worker about what he’s doing.

You can either leave a note — which you are loathe to do — or you can arrive to work early enough or stay late enough to personally confront the guy and tell him to stop leaving his garbage on the desk. There’s no need to be angry or confrontational about it.

Try putting it to him like this, “Hey, I don’t know if you’re thinking the cleaning crew is doing it, but when you leave your food containers out, by the time I get here, they’re smelling up the joint. Like I said, I’m pretty sure you’re thinking the cleaning crew is throwing your garbage out, but it’s been me.”

Sure, it’s a little passive-aggressive sounding, but it might do the trick. If your co-worker continues to leave his trash on the desk after you’ve spoken with him, then go with Plan B and speak to the supervisor.

I wish you luck. I’d hate to come to work and have to smell rotting food.

And remember, if you have an issue with someone it’s always best to first try and talk it out. You won’t get anywhere if you keep things to yourself.