New workmate smells awful

As a supervisor I have had to do this this more then once. We actually had someone quit because she didn't feel the government should dictate cleanliness. But when it affects others you have to. Keep complaining your manager needs to remember it's not always a walk in the park being in charge and this is just part and parcel of being in management.

This is a job for your and her manager.

It's one of the reasons they're paid more than you are - partly to ensure a harmonious work environment for all.

Having an unofficial little word with her yourself, aonymous notes, mystery cans of deodorant appearing, spraying stuff around are all an absolute no no and could be seen as bullying.

There should be something about this in the staff handbook.

Message your manager in careful terms, quote the handbook section, and make it quite clear what this is doing to your wellbeing and performance. If it's making you ill and affecting your work they must be told because this could backfire on you if they don't understand the cause.

If you're already aware others are also affected, encourage them to do the same.

I'd avoid asking around if anyone else is affected though, as this could be seen as gossiping / harassment.

We know poor hygiene can be affected by so many things; anosmia, being too used to it to notice, that health condition mentioned up thread, mental health issues / depression, an abusive coercive controller denying her basic rights to hygiene, nowhere to dry and air wet clothes in current living conditions. Could be anything.

There, the manager is best placed to offer guidance, support, referral to staff welfare services and so on.

And keep updating the manager and requesting action.

I remember working next to someone who had really bad body odour and rather than tell the person, the management team used to just move the team around.

They did the not so subtle monthly desk swap and I was perched next to him, heavily pregnant, with a quite a bad gag reflex. It was awful, he was the loveliest person but as soon as he sat down next me, I was running to the loo.

Management did end up broaching the subject with him and the body odour did disappear but I do wonder if in today's society if it would be a taboo subject!

Bullying has to be ongoing though.

I think you could argue this the other way in any case. A workmate could mention it in a non-judgmental way. A supervisor doing so could be seen as an inappropriate power trip.

I suppose a lot comes down to how bad the smell actually is. It's very difficult to pin down a line on something like this, usually we don't get to tell other people how they are supposed to smell or that they have to use certain products. There can be different cultural expectations too which complicates things in a mixed office.

You and others mention it to the manager again till they deal with it. If they don't have HR they need to be HR.

Tell your manager there are tutorials on how to deal with body odour on youtube. They are really good.

Sometimes it is more a case of clothes not being dried properly, so they smell awful.

Sorry my previous post was meant to quote this one

Your HR a bit shit and spineless compared to the many HR managers I have worked with !

Not what someone I once worked with did to a team member of his - put a can of deodorant on his desk and a note saying “ please use”

Agreed it is for the manager to raise. He needs to explore if there’s a health issue or other legitimate explanation. If not and it doesn’t improve after it’s been raised she could end up disciplined as it’s unacceptable in a professional workplace.

I have once had to have the conversation, I spoke with HR first who gave me the go ahead. They were upset and offended and said they didn't know why they smelled but would change up their routine. Things improved for about a week then went back to how they were before. I raised it once more and again it improved for about a week. HR advised against continuing to raise it due to potential harassment. Thankfully they eventually left.

Regardless of anything to do with her, it sounds like it would be worth talking to HR about getting an air purifier so your migraines aren't triggered (since they could be from any number of things by the sounds of it), they're recommended in offices since covid anyway. Or you could get your own small one, they're not that expensive.

Definitely needs an empathetic approach from a manager, bearing in mind not keeping on top of basic hygiene is a sign of something bigger going on. I'd approach my manager and say I'm concerned about her and the fact it may isolate her from other colleagues. Poor woman, it's a horrible conversation to have but hopefully will make things easier for her and everyone in the long run.

I don't think I would like to get an anonymous note because I'd keep wondering who wrote it and who knew about it. I'd prefer someone from HR to a direct colleague because it would be more impersonal than somebody I saw every day and they would (hopefully) be more experienced in tricky conversations, and therefore more possible to ask for advice if necessary.

The only way is open and direct. Preferably at the end of the day.

I would also speak to your manager- nobody wants to see a colleague put in a difficult situation or embarrassed or upset, but it's also not fair to other staff and the manager should have the skills to deal with it sensitively. I had a friend who this was an issue for and in the end up one of her housemates who she was closer to took her aside and it turned out she had been wearing body spray instead of anti-perspirant and didn't understand the difference and since then it's been a massive improvement.

Obviously that was a simple fix but ultimately your manager also has a duty of care to their employees - if she's homeless, being abused, in poverty, struggling with mental health etc there is an onus on a manager to check in and offer support from the company to help that person sustain employment. So it should be addressed from a place of compassion as well as trying to resolve it for the rest of the team.

Another thing that you could try which we do in our workplace is to have a little basket of toiletries in the bathrooms so if any staff member is caught short for something they will have a deodorant/ dry shampoo/ soap/ spare toothbrushes and paste/ pads and tampons and a sewing kit or plasters.

I would hate a note! You'd be wondering who wrote it, you wouldn't be able to ask questions of them. I can't stand all those passive aggressive notes people leave instead of just having a conversation- not saying that's what you're suggesting here but I would feel like this was in that category if it was me. But everyone's different I guess.

Gentle frank conversation is the best way. Like when someone is wearing a white pair of trousers and you gently need to let them know you can see everything- 'just wanted to let you know in case you weren't aware that you seem to be producing a bit of body odour which is noticeable- sorry I don't mean to embarrass you but I'd want to know if it was me.' Etc. And if that doesn't fix it then manager needs to have a more serious word.

You need to think about how you would want to be informed if it was you. Would you like to be approached by a manager or HR? I do wonder if a discreet, anonymous, kind note would be better here. That way the issue is drawn to her attention but she is not forced to have an uncomfortable conversation with another person about it. She is probably not aware and I do think that this might be the kindest way to tackle the issue. If it was me I would prefer a kind discreet note.

A manager needs to have a chat with her if no HR.

Spraying crap about or giving hygiene products can be seen as bullying.

The most diplomatic way to get rid of the sweet scent is a company-wide ban on wearing fragrances. Some places do this.

Unclean clothes is more difficult and their manager needs to raise personal hygiene with them. I’ve had to do this and there is no easy way to do it.

I manage a team and earlier this year had to tell someone that she smelled. It was the worse thing I've ever had to do as a manager.

The back story was that she'd worked in the team for about 2 years and pretty much always smelled. I wasn't her manager initially but the one at the time didn't want to upset her.

She smelled so bad (sweat), from when she came in in the morning. You knew if she'd been in a room as it would smell for ages afterwards.

When I became manager I didn't initially tackle it either for fear of upsetting her but eventually I realised it wasn't fair to my team (and a sign of me being a poor leader) if I didn't handle difficult situations. People would very regularly come to me complaining about how bad she smelled.

I took her into my office when everyone else was leaving (so not near by) and said I knew this would be an uncomfortable conversation but that she had a body odour.

She was so shocked and upset. I initially was mortified but I actually found once I'd started the conversation it got easier.

She said she bathed twice a day and wore fresh clothes everyday (we wear a uniform so get changed into clean uniform provided for us when we get to work).

I asked if she was ok and needed any support, she said no.

Later that night she emailed me and said she was really surprised and upset about the conversation, that no one had ever told her that before. She finished the email by saying she would like me to give her an update in 2 weeks time about whether it was better.

From the next shift she no longer smelled, and that was a few months ago. When I spoke to her at the 2 week mark she said she had done absolutely nothing different. She clearly had as she no longer smells.

I still cringe thinking how embarrassing the whole situation was, I am pretty sure she hates me now...

I've had to do this more than once. I've always just done it privately but very frankly- "I'm sorry to have to do this but we've had many complaints about your personal hygiene and specifically a smell, I do not say this to upset you but I wanted to check you're ok, is there anything we can do to help? Do you need anything from us?" And that has led to 'oh I did not realise/i go to the gym before work/I don't have time to shower/I only bathe once a week' etc etc etc and then I've had to add "ok I appreciate you being so honest and sharing that with me, is this routine something you could change? It's important we're all comfortable at work and are fresh and ready to deal with our clients so we do need to address this moving forward' and then it's been fine. Or they leave which is also fine. But it is a managers job - you need to be frank with the manager 'it's them or me, this person is triggering migraines so I will inevitably be off sick more often which will effect the business too - this does need taking seriously' etc.

It can still be addressed and feedback should be provided. Not in a nasty insensitive way but more of a 'not sure if you noticed' by a manager. It's an uncomfortable conversation sometimes but has to be had

OK so how would you like it to be dealt with if it was you that smelt ? HR no. A quiet very private conversation, much better.