What is the best way to deal with a very smelly coworker who has awful hygene issues?

Question

What is the best way to deal with a very smelly coworker who has awful hygene issues?

Answer 1

An anonymous note (one every day until she gets the point..if ever) stating "Listen, no offense, but your hygiene is really disrupting alot of us here at the office..please bathe"



Hopefully she gets the point. I personally don't understand people like this. There are SOME days when I oversleep and don't shower, but it makes me feel really grimy and I take one right when I get home.



Getting out of a shower and putting on fresh, clean clothes feels great, I don't know why some people walk around dirty and gross.

Answer 2

that must suck

Answer 3

ugh i just read about the smelly private parts as i was putting food in my mouth...gross.

Answer 4

I would buy her a gift basket from Bath & Body Works.

Hint * Hint*

Answer 5

Several manufacturers make products which reduce odors....Renuzit, etc... I would buy several that have no odor of their own...as sweet smells are as offensive as bad ones.... I would simply surround myself with them...and put several more out in the office..



Since your boss is aware of the problem, he might give you the money from petty cash to cover the costs of doing this. They are usually about a dollar a piece.... having them all over the office would be a way to get rid of the smell without having to pinpoint or make an accusation of just what the source is...



This is also a good way to deal with the rude co-worker who drenches with cologne or perfume before coming to work. We have someone in our office who does this....it is simply sickening...



We have asked, in a memo to the general office, that due to allergies, asthma, etc....NO ONE wear scent to work.....we have also suggested that scent comes not only in perfume, but also scented fabric softeners, deodorants, etc..



You can bet that the people who continue to do this and cause an office-wide problem...are included in our list for people to be laid-off due to economic downturn. I am head of HR where I work...and many companies are using the economic downturn as a good time to get rid of people who will not adjust their behavior at work to being a thoughtful and effective member of our team..



It is an excellent way to solve a lot of problems in the workplace..and many companies are throwing in the names of people who didn't work out as well as one would like....with the people who are actually being terminated due to reduction in staff to meet economic circumstance.

Answer 6

tell your boss to grow some balls and tell her to wash or be fired,being obese has nothing to do with smelling so bad you smell like them when you get home.



just straight up tell her,take a bath

Answer 7

This is a difficult situation.



Maybe her obesity is so severe that she is unable to bathe herself. There is still no excuse to have offensive smells at work. It is inconsiderate to the other people in the office with her.



One way that might be helpful is to bring in a basket of "special treats"...soaps, lotions, etc. This could be an incentive to be more mindful of her hygiene. You could present it to her as a gift. Bath and Body Works makes some nice stuff.



Another way is to pull her aside and very gently tell her: "I respect you and I think you do an excellent job, but we all work together as a team. This is an issue that affects us all". It is difficult to be productive when one person is stinking up the office. I've been around people who smelled very unpleasant. I feel badly for your boss, because he is in a tough spot.



The issue really isn't her weight...it is her attitude. I realize that it is embarrassing to be told that you smell bad, but she needs to be considerate of her coworkers. Somebody in HR needs to have a talk with her. There are plenty of obese people who take care of their hygiene and shower daily. She cannot sue for size discrimination when that is not what this is about. It is about her refusal to correct the problem of her poor hygiene.



She has been asked nicely to do something about it, but she cops an attitude. This tells me that she doesn't work well with others. She doesn't seem to care that this is affecting the people she works with. You guys should not have to deal with her B.O. and her bad attitude.



Why did I receive a thumbs-down? Weird.

Answer 8

You know what I have changed my mind. SCREW SUBTLETY, they KNOW that they smell like that...there is no way not to. Call your boss and tell him you would like money from petty cash to begin buying air freshers to cover the smell coming from so and so's AREA of the office. Suggest that he spend money on an exterminator because there may be a dead animal somewhere in her VICINITY of the office. Finally whenever you talk to her do not hide the pain you are feeling from that god awful smell. Make the face you are really feeling. Just do not in any way directly confront this smelly smelly round person. Make it about that AREA of the office, not the person itself. Your boss will figure it out.



In the mean time buy a glade plugin and plug it in directly outside her office door.

Answer 9

OoooohMG I had one too.

You are going to have to sit her down.(one on one) .. AND GENTLY ... KINDLY tell her that she has body odor. Let her know that you are NOT TRYING TO BE MEAN TO HER...often it is what they are eating that makes the ordor. tell her it is very ofensive. Make sure that she knows you think she washes.



buy her some body powder which is really good for this.



let her know you don't want to OFFEND her and you like her but you are having problem with the smell.



then go out and buy the fan room deoderizer or the one that sprays on a regular basis.

Let your boss know you are going to do this. So she will be forwarned.



It might not be a dirty body it just might be the smell of what is coming through her poors.

Remember OBEASE people have emotional issues which usually causes the covering their body with fat. DO NOT contribute to her pain by being mean!

Answer 10

either build a plexiglass enclosure around her workspace or get a case of air freshener; or both.

Answer 11

Buy her a stick with a sponge glued to one end



No, seriously, you and the other employees have to sit down with your employer and hash out a solution. You don't want to pick on the woman but you and the other employees have a right to work in a pleasant environment just as much as she has the right to have her disability treated with respect. It isn't fair to you all to have to come to work and smell that funk day in and day out and you have to let your employer know that it's unacceptable.



Be prepared to offer your boss some suggestions for a solution, his position in this is surely difficult. He doesn't want to make the fat lady angry and face a possible lawsuit but he can't afford to lose the rest of his employees over this either. So what to do?



Someone has got to talk to this woman and the most appropriate person to do this is the boss man. It's his dime. If he won't do it you may have to. Be polite and direct and try to be empathetic. I'm sure she is aware she stinks and it may be due to a physical ailment of some sort. If she refuses to do anything to address the issue then you have to get buck with your boss and let him know that the working conditions with this smell are unacceptable and insist he do something about it.



I work with several very large women and men and I have never noticed any kind of bad smell from them. I dunno if it's because they shower more frequently or if it's a diet thing but they are excellent coworkers and I wouldn't trade them for the world!