New workmate smells awful

[newfluffybag]

I have name changed for this. We work in a small office. A new person has started and she smells awful. It is a mixture of sweat and unclean clothes. She is only young, in her 30s. She looks fine but the scent is really bad and gets worse the more the day goes on. We don't share an office but I can smell her when I pass by her office and if she comes into my office she leaves a lingering smell. Most of us have noticed. I have mentioned to the boss but nothing has been done. No HR department. Another problem is that I have migraines which are sometimes triggered by scent. This happened a couple of weeks ago, minutes after she wafted past me I got a migraine. What can we do?

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.

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.

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

Sorry my previous post was meant to quote this one

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

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

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

Ooh, funnily enough DH was talking about pretty much the same situation earlier. In that case, he's further up the hierarchy than the guy in question, and it's a small company, so it might be up to DH to address it. We agreed that someone needs to say something - as plainly and as tactfully as possible. It's the same sort of thing as putting your feet up on the desks, or persistently using the tea milk on your cereal - something that you might not think is annoying, but which really is.

We had this problem in another office and the man smelt as though he changed his clothes (had a laundry service) but rarely washed or just threw some water about in the shower. It got really bad. Sadly, his wife had passed recently so we thought that he was depressed and neglectful of himself. However, the smell got worse. I think the manager finally said something because the colleague resumed washing again.

Omg, I actually guffawed out loud at this GIF and probably woke my DC! 😅🤣

Someone I work with smells. It's weird, it's definitely a body odour but not your typical BO smell. Sometimes I think people have conditions where they can't help it and probably stop noticing it.
This person is very well respected and liked within the team. Nobody has mentioned it (not to me anyway).

Think this is pretty common in all workplaces.

Definitely one for management. As others have said, this is why they are paid more.

poor hygiene and smells would immediately flag safeguarding to me. Unless a person is truly nose blind, generally there is some vulnerability in situations like this:m.

As terrible as bad BO is, some poor sods like me and your colleague can't help it unfortunately 😢 I'm always acutely aware if my BO even starts to whiff in the slightest, and even take a spare top/antiperspirant and body wipes with me occasionally when I go out.

I remember once in the sixth form, I had a dreadful art lesson when my top was too tight under a velvet jacket and the armpits really started to reek. It wasn't great and I felt so embarrassed as I knew the smell was horrible, but I couldn't go home and change. A classmate kept making comments about how the smell made her feel sick, but luckily didn't realise it was me. She just kept pulling faces, making comments, and holding her nose in a typical teenager way. I was pretty mortified and never let myself wear anything that could smell or hold bacteria so easily to smell quickly again.

I have a vast collection of sleeveless tops now, and always have to wear layers, even in the depths of winter 😅🤣

I work with someone like this too. It's a strange BO smell, sometimes worse than others.Not regular BO.

I suspect he's unable to wash properly because of his mobility issues, which are getting worse - I suspect he's going to need to get someone in to help him but likely has no provision for that and won't have the money to pay anyone.

A note is a terrible idea! Agree manager needs to deal with it. Have had experience of this years ago but culprit was a man, very nice man but absolutely stinking. He smelled of sour laundry, sweat and yesterday's vodka (very heavy drinker, I think). Vomit inducing. Manager hopeless, had a general talk about personal hygiene at team meeting, no change. Union rep went to personnel manager (a fuckwit) who seemed to think it was women being unreasonable because "men sweat"🤔 union rep ended up doing it himself.

I have had breast cancer and the armpit where the nodes were removed can smell pretty BO'ish if it's warm weather despite scrubbing with soap and a sponge and ample amounts of deodorant. I have to carry deodorant with me all the time. I also sweat like mad post-men because of all the meds I am on. I mean dripping sweat. Thank heavens I work from home now!

Hygiene issues can certainly be part of a health condition, so this needs to be handled sensitively as she might be aware and doing all she can.

I used to work with a guy that reeked. He was was lovely as a person. He was pulled up about his hygiene, but he was using all he had to go to work, and had nothing left to deal with his personal hygiene. That is a is a common thing with ND people.

I would speak to the estates and facilities department and see if they have a hose, like the ones firemen use, that you could borrow...

From my experience, HR are a complete waste of time, but I definitely agree with the others that it should be her manager... also remember to switch off all PCs and electricity.

The problem is that what one person sees as a discreet, kind note, another sees as a poison pen letter.

This HAS to come from the manager or HR. Will it be a pleasant conversation for anyone involved? Absolutely not - but it is a necessary one. I remember an old boss of mine had to do it once regularly one of the IT technicians. She was a cow most of the time, but I have to say she handled it really well (and a damn sight better than the manager, who played dumb and said he hadn’t noticed).

There's a midway point between an anonymous note and a conversation - a polite and overly friendly email with the compassionate approaches and talking points mentioned here included would be best IMO.

It gives the recipient the option to respond or open a dialog if they choose. It also acts as a safety net against any accusations of bullying; if the recipient becomes disgruntled, it's easy to prove what was said.

This reminds me of a situation I was in when I was young and worked in a café environment. There was a girl my age who worked there who was very disliked by the team, but she also had very poor personal hygiene. I was coming over from another branch and the manager took a (lechy) shine to me. He told me to come in on standby one day, and it turns out they were planning on sending the girl with odour issues home if she came in smelling.

I do get it especially in an environment that is preparing and handling food and drinks, but blimey it must have been absolutely mortifying for that girl.

Oh and to be clear I still think an email should come from a manager and absolutely not a colleague.