Dealing with Hygiene Issues
Question:

I have an employee who has extreme personal hygiene issues - the guy smells so bad that no one wants to be in the same room with him.  He seems oblivious to how he affects other people. What do I do?

Answer:
I'd love to tell you this is a unique situation, but hygiene problems occur more often than you think. I would include not only body odor but bad breath, offensive perfumes, etc.  The answer is the same in that you need to address each with extreme sensitivity, but address them you must.  Make sure you have a face to face meeting ( if possible) in the privacy of the office. Even better if you can take them outside of the office.  Start with all the positive contribution the person makes to the team.  Then address the issue head on by stating that the offensive odor is disrupting the productivity of the team.  There is just no way around not hitting this issue head on.  

Answer:
This is one of the toughest issues a manager has to deal with because of how personal it is.  I recommend taking the person aside away from the workspace (somewhere with good ventilation!) and away from other members of the team. As with all feedback, it is best to start with a personal observation, as opposed to saying something vague like "some people have said..." I would say something to the effect of "you don't seem to be aware that you have a strong body odor, and that your teammates are bothered by it. No one wants to embarrass you, but you need to be aware of it and take the steps necessary to deal with it." As with all feedback check back with the person to make sure that you get the response that you want.  If you do, give positive reinforcement. If not, you need to put the person on alert that disciplinary action can be taken if they don't respond. Good luck! Once you've tackled this management issue, the others seem easy in comparison!

The information and opinion that Cindy and Laura share on this site does not constitute legal advice. You must not rely on the information on this website as an alternative to legal advice from your attorney or other professional legal services provider.