Workmate personal hygiene issues

[Nethybridge]

I suppose it depends on the workplace square footage,
large expanse of open plan or teeny small offices ?
but how can a brace of oxters, however rank, permeate the
entire airspace of a work environment to the
point of people feeling ill ?

Come off !

I'm sorry, I think a fair amount of OCD outrage and exaggeration is at work here.
A good anecdote always requires a bit of embellishment on retelling.

[Heathwood]

Nethybridge said:

I suppose it depends on the workplace square footage,
large expanse of open plan or teeny small offices ?
but how can a brace of oxters, however rank, permeate the
entire airspace of a work environment to the
point of people feeling ill ?

Come off !

I'm sorry, I think a fair amount of OCD outrage and exaggeration is at work here.
A good anecdote always requires a bit of embellishment on retelling.

I respectfully disagree. Severe body odour is repulsive and permeates a fair distance. I can quite imagine in being intrusive and detrimental to the average working environment.

[Teddy Lop]

dudleybloke said:

I worked with a stinky bd years ago, the hints, both subtle and direct got ignored so we waited till he was in the small windowless toilet, pierced 2 cans of deodorant and threw them in and held the door closed.
This was a factory in Tipton though.

That's how it would have been dealt with back in the day.

Told A flatmate he funking reeked once, he got all offended and told me he had a BO "problem" like it was some kind of medical condition. No mate, you're a fat f*ck, you have the same BO problem I do (albeit mine being hard work related) and very treatable with soap and funking water.

But yeah, whoopee cushions on his chair primed with cologne maybe. Or everyone in the office (or just you buying on behalf of everyone individually) all buy him lynx gift sets for chrimbo.

[AceRockatansky]

mac96 said:

As said, it's for management to tackle. It's obviously embarrassing, but in many cases you can be doing the smelly one a favour, they may not be aware, and it will be affecting the way people react to them in every aspect of their lives.

This obviously could be true, but...

The problem is, they don't see it like that and don't appreciate being told, or they do actually know but don't care, or don't know, but still don't care and will find excuses, because personal hygiene will be too much trouble for them.

But I agree they still need to be told though.

[r3g]

Nethybridge said:

I suppose it depends on the workplace square footage,
large expanse of open plan or teeny small offices ?
but how can a brace of oxters, however rank, permeate the
entire airspace of a work environment to the
point of people feeling ill ?

Come off !

I'm sorry, I think a fair amount of OCD outrage and exaggeration is at work here.
A good anecdote always requires a bit of embellishment on retelling.

Are you a stinker?

[JagLover]

Nethybridge said:

I suppose it depends on the workplace square footage,
large expanse of open plan or teeny small offices ?
but how can a brace of oxters, however rank, permeate the
entire airspace of a work environment to the
point of people feeling ill ?

Come off !

I'm sorry, I think a fair amount of OCD outrage and exaggeration is at work here.
A good anecdote always requires a bit of embellishment on retelling.

Until you have encountered it then it may be hard to believe how bad it can be. In the example I gave think avoiding breathing when passing 12 feet away.

[Alex Z]

I had someone working for me who’s bad breath would fill a large room to the point of people refusing to come in.

It needed a direct and clear conversation rather than dropping hints (or mints) and did help a lot.
He still got fired though, as he was st at the job.

[24lemons]

JagLover said:

Nethybridge said:

I suppose it depends on the workplace square footage,
large expanse of open plan or teeny small offices ?
but how can a brace of oxters, however rank, permeate the
entire airspace of a work environment to the
point of people feeling ill ?

Come off !

I'm sorry, I think a fair amount of OCD outrage and exaggeration is at work here.
A good anecdote always requires a bit of embellishment on retelling.

Until you have encountered it then it may be hard to believe how bad it can be. In the example I gave think avoiding breathing when passing 12 feet away.

Up until a month ago, I wouldn’t have believed that one person could smell so bad as to contaminate an entire office but here we are. Sadly my desk adjoins both of the smelly people in question. I had a work with the site manager yesterday and he said she will be spoken to.

I won’t hold my breath (any more than I already am!)

[RabidGranny]

r3g said:

MBVitoria said:

Being generous, there might be an underlying health problem.

There is no underlying health problem to excuse the stench. This is regularly trotted out as a reason. No, the problem is that they've can't be arsed washing themselves and/or their clothes and bedding. It's often the clothes and bedding that are the true culprit, usually through not changing/washing them often enough as they soak up their natural body oils/sweat and odours into the fabric and then goes stale and produces a horrific stench.

I suffer with hyperhidrosis myself, particularly on my armpits. No off-the-shelf anti-perspirant will work. I can scrub myself in the shower and have minty clean pits but within an hour of wearing any kind of cotton top or shirt. my pits are streaming, and by lunchtime the fabric under my pits stinks of sweat. That's either with using anti-p (which seems to exacerbate the issue) or not using anything at all. I'm extremely conscious of it but luckily there is the God-send that is Driclor roll-on which works a treat at blocking up my pores for about 3 days per application.

My point is that regardless of the cause, there are solutions to all. Even had a mate whose clothes used to absolutely stink and he had no clue until I told him. Wasn't a hygiene issue, but rather he was leaving his wet clothes in the washing machine for the best part of a day after the cycle had ended before taking them out and when you do that they absolutely stink, especially if you don't do a regular vinegar deep clean on your washer.

As for how you broach the issue at work, definitely don't say anything to them yourself as the delicate snowflakes in the modern workplace would probably have you sacked and arrested for bullying and hate speech . It's for management to deal with, although personally I would be setting up a disposable email address and informing them they are stinking the place out, please learn how to use a shower and work a washing machine .

yeah i use Driclor also, stings like a mofo though

[Digger]

It shouldn't sting if your pits are completely clean & dry on application & leave to dry thoroughly. If you are in a warm environment & start sweating then yeah it may start to sting.

A very useful product though!

[r3g]

RabidGranny said:

yeah i use Driclor also, stings like a mofo though

Make sure your pits are COMPLETELY dry before application. Do it just before you go to bed, after a shower. If they're moist/clammy to touch, it does sting a bit. Also, trimming your pit hair short makes it more effective (lasts longer before re-application needed) ime. As you won't sweat there with it blocking your pores, don't wash your pits until they start to smell. If you wash them then you'll need to re-apply it a lot sooner.

As a side note, I find Anhydrol Forte roll-on to be absolutely pants. I think they've watered it down or changed the recipe as it used to be good about 30 years ago! It's also about twice to 3x as expensive as Driclor volume for volume. I buy the Driclor roll-on multi-packs off Ebay when they're on offer.

[cliffords]

There can be health reasons, specifically types of medication. Some cancer drugs make you smell. You smell 20mins after a full shower and clean clothes . Little masks it .

[JQ]

cliffords said:

There can be health reasons, specifically types of medication. Some cancer drugs make you smell. You smell 20mins after a full shower and clean clothes . Little masks it .

Which is why all the sensible suggestions have been that this should be handled by a manager, who would, if competent, check such matters.

But, realistically, what % of smelly people is down to medication? I suspect the number is tiny.

[The Dictator]

simon_harris said:

As a manager the worst conversation I ever had to have was with a team member that had a BO problem. When I sat him down and raised the issue his first response was "I know" he then went on to explain that as a YTS he couldn't afford the bus fare so had to walk to work every day (about 7 miles) and because he was living with his parents, girlfriend and very young baby it was difficult to get a bath every day (no shower in the house) but he did have a sink wash every day.

His biggest concern was that we were going to release him (he was from a poor background and saw getting into IT as his only route to improving his life chances). From that day on I paid for his bus fare and made sure there was always some deodorant in his desk. and the problem went away. Sad thing is I can't even remember his name now! I hope he went on to do well.

Good man!

[ruggedscotty]

simon_harris said:

As a manager the worst conversation I ever had to have was with a team member that had a BO problem. When I sat him down and raised the issue his first response was "I know" he then went on to explain that as a YTS he couldn't afford the bus fare so had to walk to work every day (about 7 miles) and because he was living with his parents, girlfriend and very young baby it was difficult to get a bath every day (no shower in the house) but he did have a sink wash every day.

His biggest concern was that we were going to release him (he was from a poor background and saw getting into IT as his only route to improving his life chances). From that day on I paid for his bus fare and made sure there was always some deodorant in his desk. and the problem went away. Sad thing is I can't even remember his name now! I hope he went on to do well.

Oh simon, I never ever thought id get the chance to thank you. It was such a long time ago but it really really made a difference. So thank you from the bottom of my heart. Im doing really well now. and I know that well I wouldnt have had the chances that I would have had if it wasnt for you being proactive and helping me....

Thank you.

[LosingGrip]

I used to work at Tesco and we had a delivery driver who stank. He would finish at 10pm and I'd be in at 8am. The van would still stink of him. We'd have to leave the windows open!

He knew he stank. It was a mixture of BO, smoke and just laziness. He didn't care. Managers never said anything to him. I saw him a few weeks ago when I popped into Tesco and he still stank.

[AceRockatansky]

ruggedscotty said:

simon_harris said:

As a manager the worst conversation I ever had to have was with a team member that had a BO problem. When I sat him down and raised the issue his first response was "I know" he then went on to explain that as a YTS he couldn't afford the bus fare so had to walk to work every day (about 7 miles) and because he was living with his parents, girlfriend and very young baby it was difficult to get a bath every day (no shower in the house) but he did have a sink wash every day.

His biggest concern was that we were going to release him (he was from a poor background and saw getting into IT as his only route to improving his life chances). From that day on I paid for his bus fare and made sure there was always some deodorant in his desk. and the problem went away. Sad thing is I can't even remember his name now! I hope he went on to do well.

Oh simon, I never ever thought id get the chance to thank you. It was such a long time ago but it really really made a difference. So thank you from the bottom of my heart. Im doing really well now. and I know that well I wouldnt have had the chances that I would have had if it wasnt for you being proactive and helping me....

Thank you.

Do you still smell though?

[BMR]

Threads like this make me glad I dont work in an office.

I do however work in customers homes, and Im not surprised there are so many personal hygeine issues when I see what their living conditions are like (self inflicted).

Funnily, the busy people always have the cleanest houses,

[24lemons]

Well it appears Santa didn’t bring any cleaning products to my colleague sadly. She smells worse than ever and we all had a word with our supervisor again yesterday only to be given excuses about possible medical reasons.

According to colleagues who went to the Xmas dinner, where she was present, there was no smell at all so it appears that she can clean up when she wants to.

As I am sat on the next desk to her, what are my rights in this as I find it severely affects my ability to do my job. I am only new to to it as well and I need to concentrate as I’m still learning. I feel I cannot do this at present.

[MBVitoria]

24lemons said:

Well it appears Santa didn’t bring any cleaning products to my colleague sadly. She smells worse than ever and we all had a word with our supervisor again yesterday only to be given excuses about possible medical reasons.

According to colleagues who went to the Xmas dinner, where she was present, there was no smell at all so it appears that she can clean up when she wants to.

As I am sat on the next desk to her, what are my rights in this as I find it severely affects my ability to do my job. I am only new to to it as well and I need to concentrate as I’m still learning. I feel I cannot do this at present.

There are no legal rights you can assert here. I assume WFH is out of the question for the role so if it's that bad I think you'll need to find another job.