I am fairly new to the human resource area and I have never had to deal with this before. How do you handle an employee with a personal hygiene problems? I want to make sure that I don't do or say anything wrong to cause other issues.

You Wrote:
How would you address an employee with a personal hygene problem?

Dear HR:

Have you written before -- or is it yet another employee who is
smelling badly?

Unfortunately for you, you can’t just ignore the odiferous problem
and hope it will go away. It won’t.

You must confront the worker and attempt to turn around the odor
issue before the bad wafts turn to bad blood in the office. But as
The Wicked Witch of the West used to warn before going after those
red shoes: “These things must be done delicately.”

You have two options.

One is the straightforward one. Act like a Man--or a Woman, as the
case may be—and address the exuding employee directly. Take him or
her to a soundproof, confidential spot and explain that his body
odor is causing some workers discomfort on the job—no need to name
names—and be clear that the right to breathe freely is a fundamental
one on the job.

As a second resort, you could deal with the situation anonymously,
by leaving a note explaining to the employee that his or her scent
or breath or unkempt clothes are offending some workers and that all
of you would appreciate a recommitment to cleanliness. This approach
has worked for some people. Others feel it’s not dealing with the
problem in the truest sense of dealing—and I’m one of those.


Good luck to you.

Can you please set in our minds a hygiene standard by offering a bit more information? What constitutes the hygiene deficiency and, more importantly, how did this person become hired in the first place? A "hygiene issue" that only comes to light after the person is hired and presumably was interviewed prior to hiring by a business unit manager is a potential problem for any employer. Please expound.

I have heard that some medications can give people "body odor", a smell like they haven't taken a bath in weeks. I think you should proceed with caution, keeping the employee's feelings in mind. Talk to the employee showing them that you care, don't leave them a note...it's not very personable. Good Luck.

I have just one thing to add to the last comment - I had a boss who had a bit of an odor problem. Apparently, she had undergone a nasal procedure that was supposed to correct a previous surgery, but resulted in her inability to smell. I felt worse for her than I did for the staff. Be kind.

Everyone responding is speculating that the "hygiene" issue is an odor issue. Has that been verified by the oroginal poster as being the problem she is trying to address with the employee?

When I was in the Army we took care of these problems ourselves in the barracks by having a GI Shower. This always took care of the problem.

I can't believe some of the quips. This can be a very serious problem. And how does it happen. Very easy. If you have an employee that is bipolar and cycles, their entire personality changes. I had an employee that this occurred to. Needless to say I had several problems. The odor was extremely offensive, found out the employee was not bathing. Ultimately because of all of the issues, the employee did terminate with company. Each time I addressed,the employee felt harrassed. Was so frustrating.

I am dealing with this now! I used a counselor that we have access to for advice and well as our nurse. The main this was to prefice how uncomfortable I feel about this. It should ease the harassment issue, i guess.

Can somebody please outline what the hygiene "problem" is? Are we talking about body odor? If that's the case, how did the person get hired?

I am also dealing with this sensitive issue. I brought the employee to my office and told the employee that it has been brought to my attention that coworkers have noticed a personal hygiene odor. I was not told if it was body odor or clothing odor. I told this person that sometimes an individual is not aware that they have one and to please take extra measures in your personal hygiene.

A easy way to address the issue is to have a general meeting make it a lunch a learn- so its not made to make one person feel like you are focusing on them. You may want to try this video called Bankers Style which does cover basic things like hygiene, to appreance. Check out (Ad removed) The video will save you having to say what you would like to say.

I've dealt with foot odor, bad breath, sweat smells, greasy hair and wrinkled cloths. None of these issues were evident when the employees were hired. Medication cause the foot odor, breath was a dental issue, sweat was hot weather, wrinkle cloths came about when a teller had 3 kids in a row and no time to iron. All were dealt with personally and compationately. It's not easy to tell someone they smell bad. Each case must be tailored to the individual. Some can be approached with humor, others very delicately. All issues were resolved successfully and with the exception of 1, with gratitude. I am not a fan of general meetings where the subject is discussed with everyone. Reason - it doesn't affect everyone and it is insulting to those who aren't the problem. Our CEO is a great mentor. He can fire someone and they say "thank you." He has a way of dealing with people one on one in a way that works for the employee. He taught us to keep the employee in focus and tailor our discussions - regardless of subject matter - to the needs of the employee. That's why we were able to resolve these issues. The best way to approach it is to ask yourself if you'd like to know if this was your problem? If so, how would you like to be told?

Quote:

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Why should all employees have to waste their time

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Because someone is trying to advertise their program free of charge. And that is why I had to edit your post too. Sorry. Pay to play on the advertising side or it isn't fair to those who do.

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I agree with Jennifer. I once saw a supervisor haul her entire staff in to "chat" about coming in late. There was only one offender - that is until the "chat". After that brilliant discussion, each and every one of her staff came in late - including the one that was ALWAYS late. They got their point across and she learned a valuable lesson, but she never got their cooperation back. They considered her a lousy manager - unable to handle the hard stuff and she lost their respect. One wrong move and kill a career.

i'm currently dealing with this issue. a few months ago I issued a warning to the entire office about the cleanliness of work area and i also rolled in a part about personal hygiene. they were both a concern. i think the employee got the hint because he really freshened up. unfortunetly the odor is back and others are complaining. so now i'm going to have to isolate the group to one. he will then know that i was referring to him, which is not good.

Oh Z, that was really sick!

can u put back the "Ad removed"? i have hygiene problems: sorry.

Jay-Risk is absolutely right. This should be handled professionally and not be a subject for office fodder. I would want to be told as soon as possible. (If it is me, please say so, cause I don't smell it! )

This problem came up in my office about 20 years ago. The guy was a pig, it was hygiene all the way. The supervisor did nothing, HR did nothing, so we all got together and bought him an entire set of personal grooming items. We put it on his chair when he was on a break and then we all took a break when he came back so he wouldn't be embarrassed in front of us.

Guess what, he went to HR and we all got in trouble.