Jeff Caplan’s Minute of News: Leading you back to the office by the nose

Editor’s note: This is an editorial piece. An editorial, like a news article, is based on fact but also shares opinions. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and are not associated with our newsroom.

SALT LAKE CITY — Let’s face it. On Fridays and Mondays, a lot of offices look like ghost towns.  Here at KSL, those are the days I get “princess parking.”  Right by the entrance. I sashay into work with a smile ready to say “hi” to folks in the elevator… and nobody’s there.

If you work in an office, your employer likely understands the hybrid work thing.  But if they could have you back in the office five days a week… chances are they’d take it.  They won’t issue edicts, but they’ll try whatever works to lure you back.

Around the country, managers are offering bonuses, high end coffee bars.  And some companies are using smell.  Filling the office with the glorious fragrances that you sniff as you walk in the door in the morning and barely notice as you work your way through the day.  A company called ScentAir creates these fragrance systems.  In essence, the Wall Street Journal says they give the office a nose job.

One Texas company uses a signature fragrance made of 35 ingredients, including jasmine, which is said to improve happiness.  Sandalwood alleviates anxiety.  Great idea. But then you look on social media where employees complain the fragrances spark their allergies, one saying work turns him into a snotty mess.

Which leaves me with the conclusion that when the boss try to lure everyone back to work, fragrances smell of desperation.

Jeff Caplan is the host of Jeff Caplan’s Afternoon News on KSL NewsRadio. Follow him on Facebook and X. 

Other Minutes of News:

• Jeff Caplan’s Minute of News: It’s getting harder to prove you’re human
• Jeff Caplan’s Minute of News: The NFL’s deepest secret