I worked in an office that was mostly full of men, I think out of 50 staff there were 2 women including me.
My boss was a blokey bloke “no nonsense” type of guy, he had a heart of gold but his previous job was managing construction workers so had no tact whatsoever.
I was in a VERY small office with a new staff member who stank to high heaven, I honestly expected to see flies buzzing round him. He told me he had “a foot condition” and he used to take his shoes off which made me retch.
This man smelt of damp, BO, grease, cheesy feet and just filth, I have quite a sensitive sense of smell so DP insisted it couldn’t be that bad. Dp came to bring me something at work and walked through the office door then stopped abruptly, I saw him trying to cover his nose! When I got home he confirmed it wasn’t me and that the smell was hideous.
I went to my boss who was the least tactful person, he begged me to tackle it but I refused so he agreed he’d say something.
The next day stinky staff member comes in wearing fresh clothes for the first time in weeks and there was a faint odour but it was tolerable, he also kept his shoes on. All was good for a few days but the clothes didn’t get changed and the smell started to permeate throughout the office again.
I went back to the boss who groaned but said he’d say something again, not sure what was said but again there was a period of a few days with no strong smells.
Two weeks later the smell was back with a vengeance and we had started to head into summer, members of the public visiting a different part of the building (where this staff member was working at times) started commenting on the smell. I swear it was spreading where he’d been and lingering, I really didn’t want to mention it again but I had to. I can’t explain how bad it was but it was the sort of smell you imagine you can still smell on you later as though your senses have a form of PTSD!
I spoke to the boss again who said I must have a personal vendetta and refused to believe this staff member had ignored these warnings and no one would want to keep being humiliated, he said he’d had no medical reasons behind it and had agreed to basically just wash. I told him to visit my office and see for himself…
My boss walked into that office and the look on his face said it all, he covered his nose and mouth then stormed out to his car.
He came marching in a few minutes later with a deodorant (obviously his personal one from his car) and slammed it on the desk, he waited till staff member was off the phone then said “TRISTEN! You SMELLY CUNT use this and have a wash or I’ll sack you. Put your shoes BACK ON and you need to wash REGULARLY not just when I bollock you!”
i thought the poor guy would be offended but he put his shoes back on and smelt himself and looked confused like he couldn’t smell anything.
This was May 2018 and he left by the end of June saying he was moving in with a woman he met online who lived 200 miles away. I’ve not seen him since but I wonder if this women smelt him before she invited him to live with her?
As far as I know he had no mental health issues and wasn’t neurodivergent, I am ND and so he knew he wouldn’t be judged or criticised. He might have been unaware or wanted to kept it quiet, I think he just didn’t give a shit.
I think sometimes some people require things spelling out properly, the majority of the time it’s a highly sensitive subject.
Just make it clear OP that you expect a better standard of hygiene and the absence of stench to be longer than a few days. You don’t want someone to think just washing once solves the issue!
I do think in some cases you need to be quite blunt as skirting around it can cause more embarrassment, I do believe some people aren’t taught about hygiene and washing so you might need to educate them.
It’s not nice to work with someone who stinks so I hope you sort it!