Employee with bad B.O.
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Anonymous
| One of my employees has terrible body odor. Like, sometimes I think he smells like a homeless person. We work in close quarters, and we see a lot of clients in their homes, and it is embarrassing and also, well, stinky. I know we can't all smell like sunshine and roses every day, but this is nearly every day. How do I approach this sensitive issue? |
Anonymous
| There are some medical conditions that cause this. So, whatever you do, I'd tread lightly. I can't remember what they are called, but I once had a co worker with such a medical condition and it took me a few years to get used to it. |
Anonymous
| have HR talk to her/him in a professional matter. Yeh it could be a medical issue |
Anonymous
| What pp said. That's what HR is for. |
Anonymous
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Unfortunately, I don't have HR... it's just me and a few employees. And, I'm pretty sure it is not a medical issue - he has told me in the past that he "is just one of those lucky people who doesn't need to wear deodorant."
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Anonymous
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I'd put a stick of deodorant on his desk.
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Anonymous
| Hi Op. I sympathize with your situation but you need to be direct with him. I would approach him privately and let him know that he has a very strong body odor smell and he needs to find a way to improve his personal hygine. Yes, he could have a disease or be on a medication that causes this but folks with these conditions are generally very up front about this and there are ways that their doctor can help them. He really may not be aware of how bad he smells but he needs to make an effort to improve the situation. Approaching this is similar to asking someone to tone down their perfume or dealing with strong cigarette smell. |
Anonymous
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19:31
+1 I am a supervisor who handles this issue more than i would like to, and direct is the best approach. |
Anonymous
More than you'd like to? Wow. I can't imagine b.o. being such a big problem these days. |
Anonymous
| Personally once upon a time when I was still a manager with a similar problem, I took the guy out to lunch, treated him and spoke to him. Making a nice gesture can sometimes soften the blow of such news. |
Anonymous
And if they continue? I can't imagine firing someone because they smell. |
Anonymous
| Michelle says Obama smells horrible too. |
Anonymous
Maybe this? |
Anonymous
To me, this sounds pretty insulting. I'd rather just talk to the person. |
Anonymous
What do you say? It's humiliating either way. And the longer it continues, the worse it gets, both smell-wise and humiliation-wise. |