How Would You Address an Employee's Hygiene Problem Without Causing Discomfort?

Hi team, I have a situation where one of our employees smells very bad because he is not taking baths regularly and not even using deodorants. Some of the colleagues who were sitting nearby have already changed their places, but others are requesting a place change.

Handling Employee Hygiene Issues

As a manager, how would you solve this issue? I am really interested in getting suggestions to handle this issue with male and female candidates.

Looking forward to your responses...

Counseling and Understanding the Situation

First, counsel him. Make him understand the situation. He might be having some psychological issues. I had to handle almost the same type of situation some years back. We had an employee who used to wear the same dress every day and would not come to the office if it rained. When I counseled him, I understood that he had only one dress and didn't have an option when it rained. Check with him about the issue; you will get an answer.

Thanks,
Jaya

How do you know he does not take a bath? Is that the conclusion reached because he smells bad and does not use "deos"? This reminds me of a student who had an excessive sweating problem. His shirt sleeves would get soaked with sweat near his armpits, up to his elbows. Upon inquiry, it was found that he had a problem, not that he was not taking a bath.

Please may we know what action you have taken so far? Could you also kindly give us more information about the nature of the work done by him and his colleagues?

Counsel the employee about the inconvenience faced by colleagues and advise him to consult a dermatologist. This problem could be attributable to various reasons, such as over-sweating due to body type, traveling to the office in public transport where there is no room for standing even, food habits, use of certain bathing soaps, and above all, the care taken by a person towards personal hygiene.

With regards,
Madhusudan

Handling Sensitive Employee Issues

As HR professionals, whatever goes on in the company becomes our responsibility. However, in this case, one needs to exercise more discretion as it is a sensitive issue. Depending on the gender of the staff in question, a same-gender staff member would have to counsel the staff, but very politely irrespective of the level of the staff. It is essential that we do not damage the psyche of the staff.

Basically, the HR counseling the staff must begin by finding out if the staff has any issues they would need some sort of help for, then advance to guide him or her on the issues at hand.