Comments on: Answers to tricky HR questions: How do you deal with an employee’s offensive body odor?

By: Cathy

Cathy — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:35:13 +0000

Merlynn, what country was your employee from? I never want to this there1

By: Merlynn Bertini

Merlynn Bertini — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 16:12:19 +0000

I also have had this situation come up at various times in my career. It is never an easy conversation, but I believe it is one that needsto take place when other employees are being impacted. In one situation, there was a young woman (around 25) who was extremely good employee but had incrediby offensive body odor. Her manager came to me and said his entire department had told hm, they could not work because of the offensive odor. No one wanted to hurt her feelings, but they could not stand the smell any longer. The manager was a new manager and did not know how to approach the problem so, asked me. I was surprised she was not embarrassed in the least, she indicated that she usually bathed every two weeks–sometimes longer, and that in her country, was a very scarce and it was considered wasteful to use it for “unnecessary bathing”. Anyway, we talked about different “customs” being acceptable and unacceptable in different cultures, and their “impact” on others, she was open and agreeable to bathing and using deodorant.

By: Clare

Clare — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:48:06 +0000

As for the person above with the husband and wife with BO, I would send an anonymous letter. I had to do this once since an high level executive had terrible BO and everyone was afraid to tell him. He was an Ivy league grad attorney and obnoxious. I would have loved to see his face when he got the letter stating he smelled.

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:43:03 +0000

I had this situation with a middle age man and I sat him down and told him that he had a lot going for him but his personal hygiene habits detracted from his presence. He broke down and cried and I referred him to the EAP. Turned out, his wife had left him and he was sleeping in his car for weeks!
As for the program that E pointed out above concerning the employee with a colostomy bag, I would approach it from a medical viewpoint and state that we want to make a reasonable acomodation for him given his circumstances. See if he can work at home until the colostomy bag is removed. Also he should see his doctor since there may be something that could be given to alleviate the odor. God help us all if we are ever in that situation.

By: Essie

Essie — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 19:47:49 +0000

I provide free peppermints in my office for any staff member who feels (or is told) that their breath isn’t fresh, and doesn’t have access to mouthwash or toothpaste.

By: E

Mon, 02 Feb 2009 18:05:27 +0000

I am currently dealing with a similar problem but in a much worst way. There is a man in my office who has a stomach medical bag. He use to have colon cancer and after the surgery the bag was installed. The side effect of the bag is the smell, it literally smells like a horrible “Vowel Movement” He also makes “unintentional” fart sounds all day. I have been complaining to my superiors about it for about 7 months and they have done absolutely nothing about it, all his work can be done on a laptop, my suggestion is to let him work from home until the bag is removed.
I have sat with this man in the same office for full 9 hour days, absolutely mind numbing. Not even a candle from this guy.

What are my options here???

By: Sharon

Sharon — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 23:14:55 +0000

Our office has a similar problem except it is not an employee with body odor. It’s an employee who constantly picks on her face, scratches her scalp, and ears then proceeds to put her fingernails in her mouth. She not only does it in front of staff, but also clients can see her if they look into her office. I do not believe she even realizes she is doing it. She is a very good employee, but she has caused some staff members to get sick when seeing her do it to the point they have had to leave the room during meetings. How can I handle this delicate situation?

By: Robyn

Robyn — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 21:27:17 +0000

I’ve had to confront this issue a few times. Once it was a situation where the employee had become homeless but no one knew. That was an eye opener. She was so embarrassed, even though we handled it in a confidential manner, she quit. The second situation was a man who had just started with the company. Right after he was hired employees started to complain about his body odor. He was just a very big guy who perspired excessively. We were direct but tactful and he got it under control.

By: Kathy DeWitt

Kathy DeWitt — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 19:44:50 +0000

I actually had to address this with a male employee. It was not a cultural or religious issue – he simply did not bathe. In fact, the employee told me he bathed once a week when there was nothing good on TV or he was not busy with his computer activities. I suggested he find another block of “dead time” for TV and squeeze in another bath. This was done as tactfully and delicately as possible. It went beyond body odor, as he allowed his hair and beard to go unwashed and uncut.
He had dandruff in both. His clothes went unwashed, as well. Since this man was employed as a school bus driver and came in contact with students, their parents and school staff, I advised him that his appearance and hygiene were important for the comfort of everyone and the impression he made as a representative of the company.

Things improved, somewhat, but when they started to deteriorate again an anonymous note and a couple of bars of soap went into his route mail box.

Fortunately, he no longer works here, for reasons unrelated to the hygiene issue.

By: Linda

Linda — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 18:40:23 +0000

I actually had to address this issue with an employee since the offensive odor was becoming rather bothersome to co-workers who sat in close proximity. I had to call the employee into my office and quite discreetly express that perhaps it was time to try a new brand of deodorant since what she was using was not working. She then explained she was allergic to deodorant and could not use. She apologized for her offensiveness and said she would instead try a different brand of powder. Things did seem to improve. I think if this is handled with care and concern, that will come across and the employee will understand and respond well.