Hygiene issue with work collegue
Discussion
How do you approach a work collegue who's hygiene is less then adequate?
I work with a bloke who reeks of B.O (Seriously, it's f
king awful) and others at work have begun to notice and complain. He seems to have ignored a couple of warnings about it before, but nothing really seems to be sinking in. How would you deal with this? And have you ever had a work collegue with questionable hygiene in the past?
I work with a bloke who reeks of B.O (Seriously, it's f
king awful) and others at work have begun to notice and complain. He seems to have ignored a couple of warnings about it before, but nothing really seems to be sinking in. How would you deal with this? And have you ever had a work collegue with questionable hygiene in the past?Awkward one, if we are honest most of us don't realize when we "hum" a little.
Are you in a managerial role? if not raise the issue with your manager and let him deal with it.
If you are a manager then you will need to discuss it with him, but don't be confrontational about it. There could well be a medical reason for it. kidney or liver disease for example, as well as the obvious one of being overweight.
It could be they have issues at home etc.
Or it could just be poor personal hygiene.
(or he could have covid, one of the symptoms is lack of smell, or it is their way to keep people away from them (joke))
Are you in a managerial role? if not raise the issue with your manager and let him deal with it.
If you are a manager then you will need to discuss it with him, but don't be confrontational about it. There could well be a medical reason for it. kidney or liver disease for example, as well as the obvious one of being overweight.
It could be they have issues at home etc.
Or it could just be poor personal hygiene.
(or he could have covid, one of the symptoms is lack of smell, or it is their way to keep people away from them (joke))
A few years ago I had to have the same talk to one of my colleagues, turns out he had been kicked out of his home and was living in his car.
His work didn't deteriorate, but could only get showered and wash his clothes on his days off as his mother lived 2 hours away.
Then asking if everything is okay with him and then gently broach the subject of hygiene. He may not realise. Has he had Covid? Loss of the sense of smell is common.
SD.
His work didn't deteriorate, but could only get showered and wash his clothes on his days off as his mother lived 2 hours away.
Then asking if everything is okay with him and then gently broach the subject of hygiene. He may not realise. Has he had Covid? Loss of the sense of smell is common.
SD.
Drumroll said:
Awkward one, if we are honest most of us don't realize when we "hum" a little.
Are you in a managerial role? if not raise the issue with your manager and let him deal with it.
If you are a manager then you will need to discuss it with him, but don't be confrontational about it. There could well be a medical reason for it. kidney or liver disease for example, as well as the obvious one of being overweight.
It could be they have issues at home etc.
Or it could just be poor personal hygiene.
(or he could have covid, one of the symptoms is lack of smell, or it is their way to keep people away from them (joke))
I can assure you that if you shower every day, use Deodorant, and change your clothes when appropriate. Are you in a managerial role? if not raise the issue with your manager and let him deal with it.
If you are a manager then you will need to discuss it with him, but don't be confrontational about it. There could well be a medical reason for it. kidney or liver disease for example, as well as the obvious one of being overweight.
It could be they have issues at home etc.
Or it could just be poor personal hygiene.
(or he could have covid, one of the symptoms is lack of smell, or it is their way to keep people away from them (joke))
You will not 'Hum' And you will know you do not 'Hum'
It's totally unacceptable to have to work with these people.
Management must earn their wages when this happens.
It happened once here.
You knew the Guy had been in a room 20 minutes after he had left!
He is now 'Sorted'
whitesocks said:
Cheers for the suggestions
I'm not management, but I can have a word with my store Manager about him.
It’s the only sensible thing to do. Some of the other suggestions here will just make the situation worse or get you in to trouble but then what else do you expect with PH “advice” I'm not management, but I can have a word with my store Manager about him.
When social distancing stops, tell him it still applies to him.
Joking aside, had a similar position before and in that instance resulted in him going to the Docs as he claimed he showered every morning but stank by the time he came in to work. It did get sorted though as it was bad!!! The whole office could smell him from all four corners.
Joking aside, had a similar position before and in that instance resulted in him going to the Docs as he claimed he showered every morning but stank by the time he came in to work. It did get sorted though as it was bad!!! The whole office could smell him from all four corners.
klan8456 said:
This kind of stuff is delicate, and is exactly why HR exists. Use them.
The OP suggests he works with, not the manager of the individual, The correct route is to raise it with his manager and then for his manager to deal with it in partnership with HR not for him to go to HR directly. In many companies HR will only communicate with managers. craigjm said:
Raise it with his manager and let them deal with it.
This.I used to work in an office with a really fat guy called 'Big Mike', and he was about 55 years old and enormous. He had that horrific 'fat person smell'. You know the one. That really tangy stench that smells like a cross between chopped onions and B.O, with a slight dribble of piss added in.
It was really awful.
Thankfully he worked on a different floor to me, but the other people he sat near always complained about him when they came up to our floor.
Eventually after several of them had complained to his manager about the working conditions being 'unsuitable because of Mike', the manager had words with him.
I don't think it went very well because Big Mike was a belligerent sort, and nothing was ever his fault. He started throwing all sorts of accusations of bullying at the management and claiming he had medical conditions that made him fat, and they had to make allowances for them.
It got a bit messy, he realised everyone around him had probably complained, and then he eventually left.
So yeah, it can get really tricky so best left to the persons line manager.
Lord Marylebone said:
This.
I used to work in an office with a really fat guy called 'Big Mike', and he was about 55 years old and enormous. He had that horrific 'fat person smell'. You know the one. That really tangy stench that smells like a cross between chopped onions and B.O, with a slight dribble of piss added in.
It was really awful.
Thankfully he worked on a different floor to me, but the other people he sat near always complained about him when they came up to our floor.
Eventually after several of them had complained to his manager about the working conditions being 'unsuitable because of Mike', the manager had words with him.
I don't think it went very well because Big Mike was a belligerent sort, and nothing was ever his fault. He started throwing all sorts of accusations of bullying at the management and claiming he had medical conditions that made him fat, and they had to make allowances for them.
It got a bit messy, he realised everyone around him had probably complained, and then he eventually left.
So yeah, it can get really tricky so best left to the persons line manager.
F**k me, do people have nothing better to complain about?I used to work in an office with a really fat guy called 'Big Mike', and he was about 55 years old and enormous. He had that horrific 'fat person smell'. You know the one. That really tangy stench that smells like a cross between chopped onions and B.O, with a slight dribble of piss added in.
It was really awful.
Thankfully he worked on a different floor to me, but the other people he sat near always complained about him when they came up to our floor.
Eventually after several of them had complained to his manager about the working conditions being 'unsuitable because of Mike', the manager had words with him.
I don't think it went very well because Big Mike was a belligerent sort, and nothing was ever his fault. He started throwing all sorts of accusations of bullying at the management and claiming he had medical conditions that made him fat, and they had to make allowances for them.
It got a bit messy, he realised everyone around him had probably complained, and then he eventually left.
So yeah, it can get really tricky so best left to the persons line manager.
And I know the answer because I worked in an office for 6 years, those people had NOTHING to complain about, but they still found something, no matter how trivial.
Many years ago I spent 3 years in an electronics factory, it was noisy, always full of solder flux fumes, where people weren't allowed to go to the damn toilet between breaks, and drink? coffee? food? at your desk? Not a chance........ So you can understand why I get irate at whiny pencil pushers complaining about arbitrary sh*t.
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