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?

Do not buy hygiene products for Christmas.
Do not email her.
Do not attempt to deal with this yourself.
Let your manager know it's an issue. That is all you can do

I had to tell 2 staff their odours had been the subject of an ss complaint. They worked on a care contract and the client said they left a BO smell in his home.

He could not open a window.
First one went ok. She was a heavy smoker but carried deodorant. She was clearly embarassed. Second one went ballistic and in total denial. Her partner rang me saying she did not smell and made threats against me.
Your manager needs to step up here. It is unprofessional to have that type of odour in the workplace.
Fwiw the staff member chose leaving over dealing with it. Other staff later described.the odour as appalling but had felt intimidated just as she tried to scare me.
Speak to your manager again. Dont try to deal with it yourself.

My old horrible boss only washed on a Sunday. So over the week the smell would get worse and worse. He had some health problems so the smell used to become unbearable by the end of the week. He was also very overweight and cheap so had very few clothes.
Staff used fo take last minute holiday so they weren’t exposed to it when it was getting bad.
His boss would do nothing about it as he knew my boss would say it was bullying.
He’s somewhere new and I saw a picture and he’s piled on the weight even more. I’m sorry for the people he works with now.

You could have a factual chat at morning tea, when you are both alone.

Is your clothes dryer playing up this week?
Your outfit smells very musty today. You should look into that.
It happened to my clothes when the dryer left them damp.
It's a really nice skirt and the last thing you need is for it to start to rot.
Would you like the name of a detergent I used that got rid of the musty smell on my blouses?

No judgement, just observation.
Making it about her clothes.
Making it about a smell you detect today.
Making it fixable.
Offering help.

The girl might have no dryer and a dickie washing machine.

I agree with notifying your HR; they should resolve the issue.

I had some clothes that got smelly really fast I. The day and did some research. As far as I remember it can be caused by being unlucky and having certain proteins in sweat, a type of bacteria that feeds on the proteins live in fabric (worse in the deodorant buildup you get in armpits and the sweat wicking type clothes, but can just be in the fabric). They don't get killed washing below 60. As soon as the person sweats the bacteria feed on protein and BO smell appears.
I solved it by washing the clothes I noticed being smelly at 60 occasionally. Some people online talked about a pet febreze that kills the bacteria but I didn't want to smell like dog spray either 😂

It’s awful when people smell. I know some people can’t help it, but if that were me and I had a medical condition which meant I smelt bad I would be doing everything I could to reduce the smell and cover it up.

I had to be in a car with someone who smelt bad recently. He smelt awful walking over to the car and omg the stench that wafted out of the door as I opened it almost made me heave. The car was only a year old as well. I had to have the window open the whole time.

Rae you sure its not cannabis? We have someone who absolutely stunk of what my colleagues assumed was unwashed clothes and BO. It wasn't it was weed, they were smoking it most nights and you could smell them from 2 offices away and for around 2-3 hrs after they left for the day.

Your boss needs to deal with this.

many years ago as a very young manager I had an employee who absolutely stank. I didn’t work with him often but my team complained. I took him aside and started gently asking if everything was ok. As it happened he had a bereavement he hadn’t shared with us all and in paying for the funeral he was left with no money, he wasn’t showering, washing or eating properly, he absolutely broke down.

We gave him money and time off. He repaid that favour by over 10 years of dedication to his job, I left and he was still there.

sometimes people just need a helping hand.

Someone I worked with a long time ago carried the odour of sweat and horses into work. She mucked out their stables in her work gear before coming in.

your boss needs to deal with it.

@longapple...have you tried putting your clothes through a short rinse and adding some white (distilled) vinegar ? I often buy vintage clothes which, although they may be clean often have a musty smell, then I just wash them as normal afterwards, you won't smell the vinegar at all but it really does leave them fresh.

I work in HR and would refuse to have this conversation unless it was with my own staff member. We are there to advise management on how to have difficult conversations not have them for them.

As a woman why can't you take her aside and speak to her about it?

🤣🤣🤣” … and specifically a smell!”

“ staff used to take last minute holiday …” 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

I had to deal with this as a manager and found it very tricky. I took HR advise to raise it with the lady who was very overweight and seemed unhappy. I was countersigning manager so her actual manager had the conversation which was tactful and honest and she wasn't too upset. But it turned out she had poorly managed diabetes and I understand this is a possible side effect - so it had the positive outcome that she took medical advice and controlled it better with some improvement.

Tricky without an HR dept, but not impossible. Who, in the company, interviewed/recruited her? Didn't they notice, before offering her the job, that she has a hygiene issue? Whoever is the responsible manager needs to have a private meeting with her. They could gently ask if she has any health problems or housing issues that make it difficult for her to maintain good hygiene? If the company can help in any way with whatever is revealed by her response, they could try to do so, but regardless, they then need to explain that clean, hygienic personal presentation at work is expected from all employees and her employment could be at risk if she can't address this swiftly.

Definitely not an anonymous note.

I think the suggestion of doing it at the end of the day, being direct but as kind as possible is the best method. I don't think there is an easy way to do this.
Personally I would be mortified to be told or to have to deliver the news.

A family member always had a strong BO smell despite daily showers and clean clothes.
Eczema had meant they used gentle sensitive products. Switching to using normal shower gel in their armpits solved the problem.

Why would OP being a woman be relevant? This isn’t a support group - it’s work. This is an issue for managers to deal with.

Christ, just when you think HR can’t be more of a chocolate teapot…

Tell her! It’s not unreasonable to expect someone to wash.

Isoproply Alcohol IPA 99.9%, otherwise known as Rubbing Alcohol, kills all bacteria. Rubbing some into the armpits of the clothes on a clean cloth will solve the problem very quickly. (It also removes stains from fabrics that can't be washed e.g. velvet.)

Reading this thread with interest, a colleague smells strongly of dog and it turns my stomach when I get a whiff. They are so lovely and I’d hate to make them paranoid but I try and leave a big gap between them and me needing to go and get a drink etc. they sit far away from me but sometimes they call me over to their desk for something and I start panicking about the smell.

Christ, just when you think HR can’t be more of a chocolate teapot…

@SpiggingBelgium

It's a manager's JOB.

It's not HR's job.

As a woman why can't you take her aside and speak to her about it?

@Attelina

And it's not OPs or any other woman's job simply because of their sex.

Forget all the stuff about little words, anonymous notes, spraying stuff, HR blah, OP.

There may be wellbeing issues for the woman concerned, which are confidential and nobody else's business.

It's the MANAGER who must deal with it, advised by HR / DEI as necessary.

Your manager must do their job.