Comments on: Speaking Up about an Employee’s Body Odor

By: Erin

Erin — Wed, 31 May 2017 18:29:11 +0000

In reply to Grace. They can be, but try to think also about how they can impact others. Example: pregnant women, especially in the first trimester when they are not ready to reveal their pregnancy at work, are often impacted by strong smells. Imagine coming to work every day to have your morning sickness triggered by your neighbour. You are already feeling unwell, maybe already missing work, and now having your productivity further impacted because of your co-worker.

By: Tom Mims

Tom Mims — Wed, 31 May 2017 16:49:25 +0000

Thanks for sending these snippets of useful information to think about, and carry in my ‘awareness system.’

By: Laura Lawrence

Laura Lawrence — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 20:19:47 +0000

This exact topic came up when my dad was a manager at IBM several years ago. He was uncomfortable talking to the employee and asked the company nurse to approach the man with the terrible body odor. The result was very interesting! It turned out that the man had been raised in a small town in which many houses lacked indoor plumbing. Most families bathed once a week—on Sunday mornings before going to church. He married a girl from the same town who been raised with the same practices. So they simply didn’t know that most people raised in other towns bathed daily! When the nurse told him this, he was quite surprised. It seems the conversation had never come up among co-workers or in social settings, and when you think about it, why would it? “Hey, Bob, I’m just curious. How often do you bathe?” Not likely. So this was an example of a situation in which cultural/social norms were very different.

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Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:48:58 +0000

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By: Grace

Grace — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 03:15:58 +0000

I am in partial agreement with some of the comments above, however I used a different approach that made the person more accepting and less embarrassed. Body odors can be a symptom of an unidentified medical condition so be careful.

By: Roger Frame

Roger Frame — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:29:59 +0000

I once had an employee who had a body odor issue so bad that we received complaints from our customers. Wanting to help her save face, while resolving the problem, I called her in and privately asked her “Have you ever walked into a kitchen and smelled all the great smells of what was cooking?” She said that she had. I then said, “And after 20 minutes or so have you noticed that you don’t notice the smells any more.” She acknowledged that was the case. I then proceeded “We have had some concerns from our customers about your body odor, and I suspect it is just like the kitchen. You are around it all the time so you don’t notice it, but others who meet you do. I thought you’d want to know.” I never had a problem with it again. (A true story told in Don’t Carve the Turkey with a Chainsaw: Resolving Family Conflict, 2012.)

By: Wes Miles

Wes Miles — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 15:04:37 +0000

When discussing body odor it is vitally important to be aware of an interesting ability of the human brain known as Olfactory Fatique. This is when the brain essentialy ignores a very strong and persistant odor. It is common among people who work with or around sewage, biological samples in a lab, and coroners. It can be a very useful adaptation in those cases allowing the individual to focus on their work instead of what would be an overpowering odor. However, it can also be a major social problem when an individual literally cannot smell themselves. I know it seems impossible to fathom that they cannot smell the overwhelming odor when you are around a person with extreme body odor, but the simple truth is that they cannot! The interesting thing is, they can smell another person with extreme body odor, but not their own. Be prepared to share this information with the offender because if you do not they will most likely leave the Crucial Conversation bewildered and underconvinced that they are odorous.
One last thing – it can be a problem of a ‘clean body’ but ‘stinky clothes’, especially if the clothes are ‘Dry Clean only’ and the individual lets them ‘air out’ between wearings to save money. Odors are caused by tiny organisisms breaking down human sweat (and other liquids) – they can be doing their thing on a body or on cloth; the result is the same.

By: Deb in EAP

Deb in EAP — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 14:50:36 +0000

The unsanitary condition of the work station also needs to be addressed directly as it may contribute to the odor and also could draw vermin–and a cockroach visiting from the next cube does not support good collegial relations! The supervisor may feel less uncomfortable starting with this issue and then segueing to the more sensitive issue of personal hygiene. Many workplaces have safety/environmental rules that can be referenced even if there aren’t currently established expectations for dress/grooming.

By: saima

saima — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 02:27:51 +0000

Re-markable remedies and talking strategies suggested….we CAN ‘MAKE IT SAFE’ to talk about almost anything only if we learn to…..