Fishy smells in the office...

msimplyfree

How do I appropriately address an obvious hygiene issue. I have an employee that really smells, the nurse has suggested it could be a medical condition. Perhaps a yeast infection that has been lingering to long and has resulted into something else. How could I address it without being offensive?

lrobb

I had to go through this once in a union shop. These are the steps we took. 1. Called the ee in and discussed the issue, asked if they were aware of the problem or had any ideas what might be causing it. Suggested corrective measures like better hygiene habits. 2. When that failed we sent the ee to a company MD to see if there was any medical reason for the odor (Note: during office visit MD couldn't detect any odor or problems that would cause this issue) gave ee time to self correct the issue 3. When that failed we terminated employment with no issues and even had union support. Long answer but hope it helps some.

Paul in Cannon Beach

I would just add that you may need to give up on the idea that there is any way to do this without being offensive.

Be gentle. Be discrete. Be firm.

But don't expect them to be grateful. In reality, they ought to be but that hasn't generally been my experience.

Be careful that you dont find yourself making a greater effort to solve the problem than the employee is making.

You may also want to search the rest of this forum as this topic has come up many times.

Dutch2

This is something that most all of us have had to address at least once... In addition to what PCB recommends, try to imagine how you would want this addressed if you were the ee with the odor. Hopefully you are doing them a favor by bringing this to their attention, but I doubt they will be very happy to hear your comments.

njjel

We have a problem with smells too. One of our ee's takes garlic tablets for a condition from time to time and also eats various fish for lunch in his office. Nothing has been done about it as yet, but I know it will be an issue one day so I'm making note of all of the advice!

davids

I agree with my fellow Oregonian, Paul, that you need to be discreet, but firm. I would frame the issue in terms of how it is impacting the work environment (co-workers find it offensive). I would not raise the possibility of it being a medical issue, but I would provide the employee every opportunity to figure it out.

I have dealt with this issue several times in my career; and a couple of times the employee did not realize there was a problem and thanked me for making him aware of it.

Paul in Cannon Beach

Hey, how about the weather this week, David? I have heard that Portland is in the 80s.

Oops.. I meant to say it was RAINING. HARD. Don't come to Oregon.

The only thing I would be careful about in saying other employees find a person's odor offensive is that in my experience, that will be the last thing the employee hears coming out of your mouth.

The rest of the time will be spent wondering who has complained and feeling hurt. Your lips will continue moving but nothing further will register.

Worse, they may ask you who is complaining or try to find out.

Take the bullet for the team and proceed as if the smell observations were solely your own.

ray a

Good point. Typically in these type of situations I try to sniff out the problem for myself (pun intended) so I can say, "I noticed", rather than, "I was told".