How do you tell an employee they have a hygiene problem? I believe this person do not us any hygiene product.?

Question

I have an employee that is of "perhaps" India" descent, who do not use deodrant. She had a clients come into the office today that also did not us deodrant.
I need to talk with her about her hygiene, we needed to open the door and air out the store today.

Answer 1

Thell it to stop eating curry chicken.

Answer 2

Delivering the "sorry, but you smell" message must be done delicately, tactfully, and in private. Keep the following in mind.

Be candid. Don't dance around the issue or avoid directly saying what the problem is. Tell the employee upfront that he/she has a body odor problem that must be dealt with.


Be sensitive. You don't want to come off as though you are criticizing the employee. Acknowledge that this is an awkward conversation for you as well, and you don't mean to make the employee feel awkward or embarrassed. Break the news gently by saying, "You may not realize..."


Be supportive. Ask the employee if there is anything that he/she needs or that you can do to help. Example: short breaks during the day to freshen up; a fan for his/her workspace.


Be considerate. Initially, tell the employee that this is a problem you have noticed. You don't want to make the employee feel worse by giving the impression that the whole department is talking about him/her. If the employee refuses to believe you, then tell him/her that you have received complaints from other employees.


Be understanding. The employee may tell you about a medical condition for which he/she may need an accommodation. Also, be prepared if the employee is so embarrassed, he/she ends the discussion quickly and leaves your office. If that happens, follow up with the employee a few days later to see whether he/she has done something about the odor problem.

Answer 3

The direct approach can be embarrassing I guess.

It could be her diet rather than a lack of hygiene. You might have to cover a few possibilities.

Do you have more than a couple of employees? Maybe you can put out a general memo or hold a meeting to stress how important personal hygiene is? The down side of this though is that the people who are clean might take that personally and be miffed, and the offender will likely miss the point.

Maybe you can leave some articles lying around about the subject?

You'll probably have to bite the bullet and just have some sort of private friendly chat.

In the military, they'd just grab the person and give him a scrub-brush wash down. It's direct and mean, but it works. Too bad you can't usually do that sort of thing.

Answer 4

There's two ways you can approach this.

1. You take her aside, so as to not embarass her, and tell her that you and others have been put off by her B.O. Explain to her the importance of hygiene and professionalism in the workplace and give her some solutions i.e. soap, anti-perspirant, feminine deodorant products... You get the picture.

2. You can let her go and say it's because her personal hygiene was lacking and compromised the stability of the business.

Answer 5

If it is that bad then u have to have a woman tell her, let her know that is it a must when you work with the public you have to have good hygiene and to use deodrant. Be nice about and and be sensitive too. Let her know that some customers had concerns about it. Or send a memo out to all your workers so she will not feel singled out.

Answer 6

As a manager of a restaurant i have come upon this problem from time to time. I suggest you pull them aside And have a conversation that goes a little like this. (name of employee) It may not have been explained to you upon your initial employment but working in this type of environment you tend to pick up the odours of the business. Have you ever gone home and a family member implied you had a strange odour? ( 9 times out of ten they would say yes, if they say no you may have to tell them other staff have complained). It is important that you shower and use deodorant not just a body spray, it is also imperatively important you are wearing a clean uniform / clothes to work each day.

Answer 7

what mattzcoz said was a great idea have a meeting with all employees about personal hygiene so that you dont have to be put in that spot of being uncomfortable or making the employee uncomfortable try it what have you got to lose good luck , let us know the out come .

Answer 8

It is possible that the person doesn't know that she smells bad. After being exposed to an odor for a length of time that person looses the ability to distinguish that smell. Its called "smell adaption". I think that is why some people bathe in perfume. They loose their ability to smell just a little bit of it and apply progressively more until they can smell it. I would bet if she was aware of this she would do something about it and since she works for you it has become your responsibility. Be nice and good luck.. I don't envy you!!

Answer 9

If this is actually your employee, as in you are her boss, then you should just tell her. Take her quietly into a conference room and say that there have been complaints from other employees or from customers and explain to her that as a business owner/manager you have to look out for the comfort of your customers.

If this is a co-worker and you are not the boss, then talk to your boss about it and then stay out of it, it's not your business to tell her anything.

Answer 10

Without meaning to offend, but body odor is considered offensive in most societies, the best way to control it is with daily bathing and the use of deodorants. Unfortunately you cannot tell the same to the clients unless you wish to lose them, but is admissible to tell employees, after all they are your image, by the way, maybe this person does not launder his or her clothes frequently or thoroughly.
Just like that.

Answer 11

It's a very difficult thing to do. Just do it discreetly and politely. It will probably be hard to explain in order for her to understand. I am almost certain that in their home land, they don't use these kind of things. But she and her friends have to learn how to use the same methods as we do. You sound like a nice person and I admire you for asking for answers to this problem. Good luck, I hope you get your point across to this woman.