Unwashed person in office

Mrs OBumble

Robsweezie wrote: »

there could be a situation where the young lads confidence is damaged and he gets a complex after being told, maybe feels paranoid and decides to leave with the embarrassment.

The OP is his employee, not his mammy.

If he's f*ing up, then he needs to be told, and given the opportunity to improve.

School teachers may get away with not telling little darlings about problem because it may bruise their fragile little egos, but it doesn't fly in the workforce.

Either the OP can get the problem fixed now, or the guys career will go nowhere, fast.

Ursus Horribilis

It's a horribly embarrassing conversation to be on either side of. But I know if I had a problem like this, I'd rather be told. Like most people, I'm lucky to have had parents who made me wash regularly, wash my hair, use deodorant, change my clothes etc. While for some people, poor personal hygiene can be a sign of mental illness, for most it's just cluelessness. This guy having a girlfriend and a child doesn't mean anything. She might be as hygienically challenged as he is or she might not care. For most of us it'd be a deal breaker early on I would have thought.

Anyway, the bottom line is that he needs to be told. It's very hard to be tactful unfortunately because it is such a sensitive subject. Perhaps in time he will come to be glad that it was said.

Electric Sheep

The way things are in Ireland these days, he might well be homeless or sleeping in his car. Try to gently give him a chance to explain if this is the case. Are there shower facilities available at your workplace?

Anonymo

Don't envy the OP on this one. You've lots of suggestions on how to broach the subject (some not particularly tactful, i.e. the suggestion about others noticing the BO) but thought I'd give my 2 cents. As the boss you have a duty to your employees. This means all of them, including this guy with the bad smell. Do as the others suggested and ask him to your office for a chat in private. Just tell him that as part of the job you expect all staff to adhere to a certain level of hygiene and that right now he is falling short of that and you expect him to address it for the next day he's at work. If he asks then elaborate. But if he doesn't then leave it at that.

Lastly there was a suggestion that you send an email to all workers regarding hygiene. Do NOT do this right now. This will clearly be seen by the other employees as being motivated by this one particular person. This is the same as talking to him in front of them all about his BO and to me would be a form of bullying.

MayoAreMagic

Maybe next time you are nearby, and when nobody else is, ask him if he smells something? Pretend you think it is the bin, I bet he realises it's him and washes that evening.

jackofalltrades

To echo what others have said, sit him down privately and explain the problem to him.
Don't beat around the bush or make up any kind of story.
Maybe best to tell him at the end of the day, so if he's embarrassed he doesn't have to sit around all day.

hawkeyethenoo wrote: »

the last one is out of order, surely steps one and two are enough? embarrassing someone by sending them home to shower??

I worked beside a guy who smoked, didn't wash regularly and wore the same clothes days on end.
The sweat marks were clearly visible on his clothes.
Management had to speak to him twice about it and even then he didn't change his ways.
Some people just don't get it and need more extreme solutions.

miamee

If you are going to approach anyone about the issue, I'd advise approaching him first. If I were in his situation, I'd much rather someone say it to me directly than be going to my college/to HR/asking colleagues if they can smell something/sending obtuse memos or emails. It is possible to be tactful while being direct.

I think huggles85's advice is spot on.

Mrs OBumble

Electric Sheep wrote: »

The way things are in Ireland these days, he might well be homeless or sleeping in his car. Try to gently give him a chance to explain if this is the case. Are there shower facilities available at your workplace?

Sounds harsh, but this is not actually an employer's problem, and it can get quite difficult if an employer starts making allowance based on personal circumstances, or trying to fix an employee's problems. There won't be an easy workplace fix: even if there's a shower at work, there won't be a washing machine and dryer. And any other options involve the employer having too much input into the employer's personal life.

Bottom line, if you have a job, you are expected to turn up in a fit state for that job. For an office job, that means a clean body and clean clothes. How you do that it your problem, not your employers.

cocaliquid

Have a office meeting and do a slide show on personal Hygiene.

OP did you clean his keyboard before he started work. ??? :pac::pac::pac::pac:

http://www.bitrebels.com/lifestyle/beware-of-your-keyboard-hygiene/

twowheelsonly

Sunny Dayz wrote: »

I would ask him into the office for a little chat about how he has been getting on. Let him know how his work has been, give him positive feedback on it, any areas of possible improvement in his work. Keep it fairly casual, like you want to see how he is getting on so far.
Then say to him that you have noticed odour which may be offensive to other workers or customers. You really are going to have to bite the bullet and tell him straight, sending around memos won't work, if anything it will highlight the issue with other workers if this guy is really oblivious to it. Just let him know that high standards of personal hygiene must be maintained when working in an office space and that you have noticed that he has failed this. Suggest to him that he wears a cleanly washed and ironed shirt each day (or whatever the dress code is). Maybe go through with him in detail what the dress code is, he may have never worked in an office environment before (or even worked anywhere before).


To be honest, I think men have a poorer sense of smell than women. I'm not being sexist but I have noticed it with my husband and son. Also, it's actually difficult to smell yourself!

This.... ^^^^^^ .... All of it.

The most important things are probably to do it at the end of the day (call it a review!!) and DO NOT mention any other staff or customers noticing it or complaining about it. That will only serve to make him paranoid about it and probably completely shatter his confidence.

Have a good chat with him about it. You can sympathise with him to a degree about how tiring and stressful having a young child can be but that he needs to make time for himself as well and to stay on top of things. Find out how he's travelling to work - Walking ? Cycling ? Do you have access to showers in the workplace ?

Whilst some people might say that his personal situation isn't your problem I think that you have to bear in mind that he's young, on work placement and has a partner and young child so money is probably tight. Quite possible he doesn't own a whole lot of clothing and can't afford to run the washing machine every night and have the immersion or shower on every morning. Mention ALL of his clothing - the emphasis always seems to be on a clean shirt but I've found over the years that fellas will wear the same trousers for weeks on end without noticing how dirty and smelly they become because they don't really show the dirt.

Encouragement rather than chastisement will be the answer to this so if he does sort himself out be sure to compliment him on that later as well to keep the lines of communication on the subject open.

Enjoy the chat but make sure everything else is positive and that's the only negative or the effect will be lost entirely. Leave him know in no uncertain terms that it's absolutely not acceptable despite everything else about him being top notch and I'd almost guarantee that you'll get an instant result and still remain on good terms.

screamer

It may be that his clothes are not dried properly leading to what I call a wet dog smell. Students are particularly prone to this living in flats where there are no drying facilities or tumble dryers they can't afford to run.
If the smell is that bad you'll have to address it with him but you need to say you notice it and before anyone else does thought you'd give him a heads up. Don't say someone said x y x that's a recipe for disaster you need to own the feedback and present it in a I'm trying to help you out here way.

The Raptor

I think this comes down to parents where in the past, it was acceptable to shower once a week. When I got to my teenage years, I was given a can of deodorant on top of a once a week shower. I probably smelt without even realising it. Yuk yuk yuk.

There's no easy way to tell someone so just come out with it. Maybe to the college where they can tell the students and give them a lecture on personal hygiene before he comes back in the next week.

FAILSAFE 00

To avoid embarrassment set up a decontamination area just has you enter the office. Explain there has been a virus outbreak :P



I agree with others. You just have to bite the bullet and lay out the rules regarding hygiene and clothing.

Sunny Dayz wrote: »

I would ask him into the office for a little chat about how he has been getting on. Let him know how his work has been, give him positive feedback on it, any areas of possible improvement in his work. Keep it fairly casual, like you want to see how he is getting on so far.
Then say to him that you have noticed odour which may be offensive to other workers or customers. You really are going to have to bite the bullet and tell him straight, sending around memos won't work, if anything it will highlight the issue with other workers if this guy is really oblivious to it. Just let him know that high standards of personal hygiene must be maintained when working in an office space and that you have noticed that he has failed this. Suggest to him that he wears a cleanly washed and ironed shirt each day (or whatever the dress code is). Maybe go through with him in detail what the dress code is, he may have never worked in an office environment before (or even worked anywhere before).


To be honest, I think men have a poorer sense of smell than women. I'm not being sexist but I have noticed it with my husband and son. Also, it's actually difficult to smell yourself!

Perfect.

Mena

Neyite wrote: »

That's a bit sexist, don't you think? He's an adult responsible for his own personal hygiene, and more than capable of sticking a load of clothes into a washing machine and turning a knob. Or using a bit of shower gel. But yeah, blame a woman for his lack of personal hygiene. :rolleyes:

I read it differently. That is was a woman and child as opposed to mother or father or friend or boyfriend, people who care about you would tell you. It's not about her doing his clothes, and it's a bit sexist to presume that much.

spurious

Electric Sheep wrote:

The way things are in Ireland these days, he might well be homeless or sleeping in his car. Try to gently give him a chance to explain if this is the case. Are there shower facilities available at your workplace?

I would keep this in mind before having 'the chat' which you will have to have.

Whatever about personal washing facilities, many people do not have laundry facilities at home. Perhaps he washes himself but whacks on the same stinky clothes.

kimokanto

Odus fell down wrote:

Anyway, the bottom line is that ....

Heh heh, bottom line is that the place stinks of "bottom"
Bang of star, nasty.

jd

Mrs OBumble wrote:

School teachers may get away with not telling little darlings about problem because it may bruise their fragile little egos, but it doesn't fly in the workforce.

To be fair now, the problem isn't usually the kids but the sensitivities of the parents!

Neyite

Mena wrote: »

I read it differently. That is was a woman and child as opposed to mother or father or friend or boyfriend, people who care about you would tell you. It's not about her doing his clothes, and it's a bit sexist to presume that much.

The OP was "shocked" that the girlfriend "let him out like that"
I doubt the OP would have said that if the new guy flat shared with male friends or his brother or his dad. It sounds clear to me that its implied that the girlfriend should police his hygiene and attire before "letting" him leave the house. Maybe she has told him he stinks and he doesn't care. She signed up to look after the hygiene and attire of their child as a parent but never agreed to do it for a Man-Child I'm sure. Why should she?

If it were my partner, yeah, I'd tell him he is whiffy. But if he continues on into work in a smelly shirt, its not my problem or my responsibility. It's his. So his employer could be "shocked" all they like that I'd "let" him out of the house like that.

To me, saying the sentence is actually insulting for both genders - to women because its implied Wife-work, and to men because the vast majority of men that I know have very good standards of personal hygiene and neat attire.

ncmc

Neyite wrote: »

The OP was "shocked" that the girlfriend "let him out like that"
I doubt the OP would have said that if the new guy flat shared with male friends or his brother or his dad. It sounds clear to me that its implied that the girlfriend should police his hygiene and attire before "letting" him leave the house. Maybe she has told him he stinks and he doesn't care. She signed up to look after the hygiene and attire of their child as a parent but never agreed to do it for a Man-Child I'm sure. Why should she?

If it were my partner, yeah, I'd tell him he is whiffy. But if he continues on into work in a smelly shirt, its not my problem or my responsibility. It's his. So his employer could be "shocked" all they like that I'd "let" him out of the house like that.

To me, saying the sentence is actually insulting for both genders - to women because its implied Wife-work, and to men because the vast majority of men that I know have very good standards of personal hygiene and neat attire.

I think you’re reading in to the OP’s comments a bit much. I think she meant that living with a girlfriend rather than on his own or with flatmates means that, presumably, the GF gets physically closer to him than a flatmate would and presumably should be able to smell him and tell him that there’s a problem. I don’t think the OP meant that the GF should be washing his clothes etc, that’s not the way I picked up the comment anyway.

But you’re right, maybe the GF did say it to him and he ignored it. Or maybe they both have questionable hygiene and just don’t notice the smell any more. There could be all sorts of other reasons already mentioned, like mental issues, limited access to hot water etc, but at the end of the day, none of that is the OP’s problem. I would have sympathy for the worker, but if you can’t turn up to work in a presentable state, then you shouldn’t be working. There’s no way to deal with it other than the straightforward approach of saying it directly to him. It will be embarrassing for both parties, but will be worse for the worker the longer it goes unsaid because he will know that people have been talking about him for weeks. Bite the bullet OP and do it ASAP.

annascott

Robsweezie wrote: »

there could be a situation where the young lads confidence is damaged and he gets a complex after being told, maybe feels paranoid and decides to leave with the embarrassment. But I get the need to nip it in the bud. If it were me im not sure i would say anything, depends on the smell. is it overpowering?

unbelievably overpowering. I almost gagged as I tripped into my office. I would be concerned that the smell would cling to others' clothes and hair...

annascott

Neyite wrote: »

The OP was "shocked" that the girlfriend "let him out like that"
I doubt the OP would have said that if the new guy flat shared with male friends or his brother or his dad. It sounds clear to me that its implied that the girlfriend should police his hygiene and attire before "letting" him leave the house. Maybe she has told him he stinks and he doesn't care. She signed up to look after the hygiene and attire of their child as a parent but never agreed to do it for a Man-Child I'm sure. Why should she?

If it were my partner, yeah, I'd tell him he is whiffy. But if he continues on into work in a smelly shirt, its not my problem or my responsibility. It's his. So his employer could be "shocked" all they like that I'd "let" him out of the house like that.

To me, saying the sentence is actually insulting for both genders - to women because its implied Wife-work, and to men because the vast majority of men that I know have very good standards of personal hygiene and neat attire.

Misunderstanding: this is not meant to be sexist at all. I was referring to anyone/partner (implied physical closeness) who shares the same living space with him. He mentioned a girlfriend, but the gender of the partner is not at all relevant.

Also, this isn't just going out wearing a smelly shirt. He has a musty oily goat type smell coming from his clothes which suggests that he and his clothes have not been washed for a very long time...

annascott

FAILSAFE 00 wrote: »

To avoid embarrassment set up a decontamination area just has you enter the office. Explain there has been a virus outbreak :P



.

lol!!

tuisginideach

So have you spoken to him? He could have spent the weekend getting his act in order and getting over some of the embarrassment - ...

GHOST MGG

a bottle of lynx with a red ribbon left on his desk...will work wonders

annascott

He is not due in until next week. A male colleague is going to speak to the guy in private. It might be less embarrassing for him than to hear it from a woman.

I will update you.

denismc

I work in a plant with about 60 other guys. One or two have noticeable bad odour even though they shower after every shift.
A lot of the time its down to footwear, particularly socks.
Cotton socks even if washed regularly can emit a pong after a while. For anyone with smelly feet they should get rid of cotton and invest in wool or synthetic material socks.

Robsweezie

annascott wrote: »

He is not due in until next week. A male colleague is going to speak to the guy in private. It might be less embarrassing for him than to hear it from a woman.

I will update you.

good call - might be easier man to man.

''listen mate, you know us lads work hard, and we tend to sweat a lot....''

im not saying sugar coat it too much, but be mindful of his feelings. maybe put emphasis on his clothes smelling rather than him, so he's less embarrassed.

he might feel patronised if you mention showering as if he didn't know that already.

sjb25

When I worked in a factory few years ago a chap started on our team he was brilliant at the job from day one and a really nice guy hard worker he was just oral hygiene challenged the bang of his breath would collapse a horse

Anyway couple people on the team spoke to the supervisor over it the chap was called into the office and to be fair he changed everything I even met him brushing his teeth in the toilet several times before shift and he'd have mints or chewing gum most the time
He did however seem to lose all his confidence started taking a lot of time of ringing in sick etc was such a change in his work even he became terrible and he was let go as he was on temp contract they didn't renew it I don't no what the supervisor said to him but knowing him it was extremely blunt

Suppose what I'm saying is yes you need to talk to him it will help him personally if Notting else but make sure to to crush him altogether

Hollister11

Be blunt - tell him he needs to start washing and smell nice, as your stinking now and it's putting the entire office off from there work

intheclouds

Id be direct but pleasant.

The advice about acknowledging him and his situation is great.

Call him in, mention how he is doing the job well, then simply state that its a bit of a delicate subject so you will just be blunt and that himself or his clothes smell as though they have not been washed properly. Ask him if he has access to proper personal hygiene and clothes washing/drying facilities (and be prepared to offer some suggestion if he doesnt).

Finish it up with how its important for the company to maintain professional standards and how working in close proximity with other people means its important to maintain good personal hygiene. With that in mind, all employees need to be fresh and wearing clean clothes daily.

Thank him for his time and allow him to leave. This is a conversation best had at the end of the day so that he can leave and not have to be there wondering if he is smelly for the rest of the day.