How to tell someone they need to shower more often

title says it all really. I searched for quite a while as I could've sworn we've handled this topic before... wasn't there something about leaving deo on the desk? That's not the route I want obviously. Maybe someone's a better searcher than me and will post a link to the other thread...

When he shows up, start gasping (loudly .. so that he notices) and quickly slip on one of these
http://www.makingthemodernworld.org.uk/eve.../IM.0695_zp.jpg

Is he German by any chance?

Gen you are not normally this shy and retiring...just tell him/her

Get a misting/spritzing bottle, fill it with water, and hit'em with a shot everytime they walk by

Incredibly sexist of you both. Believe it or not women smell too!

I have never smelled such smelly people in my entire life. Maybe, if they just didn't air out their clothes and actually washed them they wouldn't stink so bad. I am really offended when people show up at dinner parties and they stink. You would think they would have some pride in themselves that they would come clean. My husband is German and when he first arrived in America he never noticed anyone smelling but on his first trip back to Germany all he could do was complain about the smell. His co-worker stunk and he was in a small office with him and when the guy would enter the office he would jump up and open the window trying to give him a big hint. It didn't work. My husband said he never noticed the smell before - he was so used to it. But it makes him sick now!

Apologies to fellow males .. but that was only for want of a suitable pronoun for indeterminate gender.
http://www.cjr.org/tools/lc/heshe.asp
But that would be another never-ending thread ..

I did once drop a co-worker a hint by saying that I always have a can of deodorant in my desk in case I realize that I'm getting smelly during the day. If she didn't have one at work she was welcome to use it.
She understood but didn't do anything about it.
The boss sacked her soon afterwards, saying "Sie müffelt". To me, not to her.

it is a guy yeah. Amazed I managed to leave that out of my original post. Oh and I'm in an office with 10 people, open plan office, so if I say anything everyone will hear.

And Scogs you know how to take it when I tell you off, but I don't know this guy that well yet... just sometimes there's a great phrase that someone's found, like sarabyrd's deo one. That's not bad. What I'm doing now is putting perfume on when he comes in, mostly so that I smell the perfume and not him, and I expect someone to notice at some point...

It’s Christmas soon. Why not buy them some deodorant and stuff, they will think you are nice for the present and come the New Year they wont should not stink

Just tell the person in question out straight that they carry an unpleasant smell and that they may want to try using a different deodorant or maybe shower once in a while.

That is how I approached it back in my old company. People were trying to leave subtle hints about the smell of a colleague but without success. So I just stood up and told he that he stank and that showers were no longer optional for him. That seemed to do the trick

Secret Santa...deo as a Xmas pressie!

Sorry Gen, I had to ask. It's just that when I first came to germany, I thought that it was law here to put in the job description for CLEANERS that they "must not wear/use deodorant"!!! It does seem though that German deo's are shit. I bring Glilette anti perspirant (as opposed to deodorant) back from the UK. I think it's the CFC's or something!? I find German mens deodorants make me smell like a bird or make you smell worse than using none at all.
I don't sweat loads before you say anything, just have my little idiosyncrasies. I don't like the way some germans smell & don't ever like the thought of being like "one of them"

In all honesty though, just tell him. Out of the blue one day just ask him if he forgot to put on his deodorant "today". That way he'll think he nornmally smells ok but will start doing something about it. Be blunt!

A co-worker did that do a lawyer once. It didn't help. Damn, he could stink!

This could be trickier than you think. He may be saving water, protecting his skin, not using chemicals or similar.

Ah, I like this one! Very good, exactly what I wanted -- the prize phrase!

Oh and yes he's German too, forgot to mention that as well.

You're right. I'm quite sure there was a similar topic not so long ago (needless to say I can't find it or I would have posted the link).

ok well in that case just tell him stinks then

Gen, figure out how would you want someone to tell you that they were bothered by your smell and handle it accordingly.

Sure I know you bathe but TBH if it were me, my personal rule for shared office settings is that no one should be able to "smell you". I would probably be bothered by your perfume - perhaps not as much as someone else's body odour but who knows. It depends on the perfume and the body chemistry. Scent is in the nose of the beholder and all that.

Good luck

We have one of our Assistant Docs that, well, stinks, and the head secretary went up to him today, and asked him if he needs a new Scrub Shirt? Hoping that he would get the idea. But I find that Germans tend to wear clothes more than one day in a row, and sitting in a hot room with no air, makes the pits smelly.
Most people that smell do not notice the smell on themselves, so someone had to tell them.

You could say it to everyone.
"Do you mind if I open the window for a bit? It stinks in here"

or you could send a general email saying " I don't know who it is, but it's smelling pretty bad in here lately. So if its you, please be considerate to your co-workers bla bla."

Does he have a good relationship with any of your co-workers? If so, you could tell that person to tell him,

I only have 2 office mates, and one of them really stinks and on those days it's hard to breath in there. She even wears the same clothes a few days in a row, and I could make french fries with the oil in her hair. But I haven't said anything and I don't think I will, but only because we just don't spend that much time in the office together.

That is so true. The number of women who love it when I fart in bed and pull the duvet up over their heads is amazing

why do I highly doubt that?

erm...

Well it always makes them laugh anyway

that is not laughing, they are gasping for air.

Yea but that’s nothing to do with the fart, that’s because I wait till they go down on me.

That way its more of a surprise

Get a room you two ffs

TBFB: Was it you that dated my sister?

Dunno depends if she got pregnant or not

We all did, and we told his wife who worked in the office as well. But he was/is just the world's biggest (6'5" and heavyset) stinker.

From a fart? You are a biological wonder, I always knew that.

guess you don't get alot of second dates, eh?

Second dates?

What do you want one of those for?


Chemical weapon init


Na, I usually go for the old bints with no teeth

TBFB- ever get bitten when you do that? (fart as she goes down I mean)

1. Also a good thought, but I wasn't able to come up with anything.

2. Oh I don't want to use the perfume, and as soon as no cigarette smoke smells are in the office I can quit that entirely. I'm working slowly and steadily on getting that to stop too. I'm hoping people will be offended by the perfume and will say something and then I'll answer that as soon as they shower more I'll quit using it... I think that's passive aggressive behavior isn't it? Someone was looking for a definition recently...

my boyfie marinades me in his fart ming overnight. I wake up orange sometimes. Moonboot Tikka Massala

@ Gen just tell him dscreetly how pongy he is. or fill your desk with loads of scented candles and potpouris until he gets the message!

If you really want to be passive aggressive use air freshener. Surely someone there will be concerned that the chemicals inhaled could cause 2nd hand cancer.

One of the funniest things i've read for ages

Just wait till i start calling him The Curryman when i see him

First get the support of your coworkers. Then wait until the guy shows up, and reenact the morgue scene in Silence of the Lambs, when all the FBI and coroner's assistants pass around some little white chemical substance they apply under their nostrils before they start carving up the dead girl. Hint taken by Stinky or no, at least it's vaguely entertaining for the office.

I had a colleague who stank before and my other colleagues and I would start conversation topics on how often we would shower as we are so paranoid and hope that we dont stink, what sort deos are the best etc etc. And one time, I had no choice but to pull this person aside and say that I hope she doesn´t get offended but how often did she shower and could she use a deo please? Gave her mints for her breath too. She took it very well I must say as we were in the service industry and constantly dealing with walk in customers so we couldnt afford to offend them!!! And from then on, we really didn´t have issues.

dorman that was more than vaguely entertaining to read but I don't think I'll do that. Nice to have it preserved for future askers of the same question though.

Well, when I was in the UK Civil Service, we had this exact same problem with a female co-worker. And something was said so off she went to Boots the Chemists.

She came back with a can of Femfresh.

It was kept on her desk every day until I left the Service.

That wasn't the best working enviroment, having to look at a can of "feminine deo spray" daily in an open-plan office.
And no, she didn't pong any less either.

Be careful for what you wish for.

There is a solution! Some clever internet people created this site:

http://www.badbreathalert.com/

You go there, click a form together, and it sends an email to the address you give for the person -- anonymously, and humorously. Only one email per month can be sent to any particular address to prevent harassment. Costs 69 cents. Now this is for breath, but on their site it lists a "Body Odor Alert (Coming Soon)". Unfortunately the site has a bunch of broken links, but you can pay with PayPal, so that part might still work.

I liked this part best:

An automatic e-mail - you like automatic e-mails

We had a guy in our old office that really smelt, when he had been in the elevator you knew for about an hour after used to make us heave. A women in HR took decided to talk to him, she asked him if his shower was broken and if so did he need any help. The guy said there was nothing wrong with his shower and got quite offended that she had said anything to him. He left about 2 months later. In those last 2 months the smell got worse to the point your eyes would water when he was near - Thank god he got offered a job somewhere else - hey wait...oh yeh your guy is german.

I'm sure I read somewhere that there is an actual medical condition where people cannot control their sweat glands and deodrants don't work.

How can the coworker who is bothered by another coworker's smelliness not be sure that other people can't smell them too... but just have the courtesy not to say anything?

Peinlichkeiten im Büro: "Übrigens, Sie stinken"

There is a Mitarbeitar in kaufland freising (Female) who beggars belief . How did she get through the interview, how does she keep her job.

At one point she was away for awhile . not being surprised and thinking about time, but no she returned (Bless Her)

A prize for anyone who may spots her.

Anyone who shops in Freising Kaufland keep a lookout ,give me the description and I´ll tell you if your right.

Reminds me of the bloke who walks into a chemist's shop.

"I'd like a deodorant, please."

"Certainly, Sir, ball or aerosol?"

"Neither, it's for under my arms."