Body Odour

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To "21 Apr 2005 11:15PM, Anonymous, aged 25"

If you are struggling to find a solution from your GP, have you tried alternative therapies, such as homoeopathy? Could be an alternative, or complimentary solution to whatever ideas your GP has. Also, going against most people's thinking on BO, have you tried NOT wearing any deodorant, perfume or anything, and possibly using a natural soap? I don't wear deodorant because when I did use it, it actually caused BO. The same for heavy perfumes. The chemicals in the products had a reaction with my body and created problems rather than negating them. Combined with a better diet, cutting out coffee, replacing black tea with green tea, and drinking plenty of water, this stopped BO problems (for me anyway). Discuss alternatives with your GP. It could be down to trial and error.

As general address:
We all need to be willing to communicate on issues, no matter how embarrassing or difficult to deal with. Leaving "hints" like a can of deodorant is quite frankly bullying and cowardly, and very unsupportive. We all have bodies, and nobody is perfect. So lets talk about these things, rather than hiding behind our hands with whispers and embarrassed giggles. Hats off to all those who have already contributed sensible, sensitive suggestions!

Due to the nature of our business we are obliged to enforce a policy whereby any type of strong odour, be it raw armpit, paint stripping breath or eye watering aftershave, is not acceptable in avoidance of the risk of product taint - the point being that although this policy is designed to suit our particular industry, these things can be achieved sensitively and discreetly with a little creative thought. Anyone exuding any type of disagreeable odour is quietly taken aside and advised that they are in contravention of said policy - no further embarassing detail required. This doesn't cover all bases (such as illness derived odour) but it sure covers the common majority.

Our works rules have a number of clauses that could result in disciplinary action being taken
- Failure to maintain a proper and conventional appearance and manner of dress or to wear Company uniform or clothing when provided.
- Any activity outside the scope of normal accepted employment practices whilst in working hours.
- Unintentional behaviour in such a manner as is likely to cause offence to other employees or visitors to the Company.

Possibly this could be a point of reference to stimulate a discussion about what is/isn't acceptable in the work place and try to establish if there are any issues which need to be addressed or taken in to account. I don't suggest dragging the guy in for a disciplinary hearing but you surely have a duty of care to the other people in the workforce, and maybe the needs of the many out weigh the needs of the few?

Hi K,

Does your company policy include personal hygiene? If so then it may be wise to point out this in a more formal inquiry.

You must also be very sympathetic to this employee as they may have issues along the lines of mental health i.e. depression and badgering the employee could result in a harassment suit.

In my company we had an old chappie with issues along the lines of your posting. He was alone and work seemed to be his only outlet in life. When times got very bad he was asked to go home and shower and return when freshened up. This seemed to work and his hygiene would improve only to fall again after a number of weeks. He eventually had to retire due to ill health.

I wonder if you have access to occupational health services. Perhaps they will be able to talk to him and discuss hygiene best practise and they may be in a better position to uncover any other issues associated with hygiene or perhaps refer him on to his GP.

I would hazard a guess that there is an underlying issue that puts this employee in a frame of mind where they have 'given up' so to speak.

Please tread very carefully because the employee may be the brunt of many jokes and sniggers but they are after all human.

Interestingly on a side note we have many Polish staff here who, incidentally, work like Trojans. The men seem to eat very strong flavoured food i.e. cured meats and stews, drink copious amounts of black coffee and smoke like troopers. When the weather is warm and they get up a good sweat they do tend to smell very strongly of the associated body odour. Reading previous posts it does seem that as humans we have lost the ability to accept a human smelling like a human and favour the synthetic smells of modern times.

I wonder how we would have coped with the smells emanating from our colleagues in the steel works, the coal mines or the women in the munitions factories of world war two. I’m sure they accepted that the smells were part of every day life and a testament to a hard days graft.

We have an employee who has been told numerous times about his bad body odur and other smells and the fact that he does not change his clothes for weeks on end. He has been told off the record and this problem has been going on for a long time. What do we do now as people are refusing to work with him and it is causing a lot of problems but hejust does not listen.

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This post has been removed because it contravened our guidelines.

This post has been removed because it contravened our guidelines.

This post has been removed because it contravened our guidelines.

This post has been removed because it contravened our guidelines.

This post has been removed because it contravened our guidelines.

Body odour, whether linked to a medical problem or not, is, unpleasant and stressful, for all concerned. Just a suggestion...........has anyone with a medical condition here ever tried slowly cuttingout certain foods from their diet??????????, as I know that different foods DEFINATELY alter body secretions and fluids. Just a thought, which might help??? Also, I don't know if anyone can help. I am currently trying to DEFINE "good personal hygiene" so can anyone point me to a way of writing this, as an employee's guide, which removes the subjectivity from the statement? As we all know, one persons idea of what is good, is not necessarily another's. So I need to be more specific about what is required, without offending people or treating them like imbeciles. Any help would be much appreciated.

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This post has been removed because it contravened our guidelines.

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Hasn't the world become too extreme in worrying about human body odour? Dogs are allowed to smell like dogs. Isn't it a human right to be able to smell like a human? It only seems to have become a problem in the last 30 or 40 years. Before that, it was common for the majority to bathe once a week. What has happened to the human race that makes people think everyone should smell like a Lynx deodorant?

In a previous company a senior director complained to me about the odours coming from a cleaner at 8.30 in the morning and wanted the individual replaced.

I felt this was a little extreme and explained that anyone who had just spent 3 hours cleaning 32 toilets would stink! he understood and backed down and complimented him on the standard of cleaning.

Just for the record this subject has been going on for a quite a while, surely it should have been cleaned up by now!

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