Co-worker/desk mate problems -she smells very bad

[Deactivated] on 06/05/2017 - 22:20
Last edited 13/05/2017 - 12:06

So i started working at this dept last year and didnt notice it at first but she smells.

We sit in a open style office where there is one long style table shared by two people.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/e6/35/05/e635…
something like this.

so i didnt notice it at first but my female coworker has very very bad hygiene problems , she doesnt use deo, she drinks coffee constantly and doesnt take mints, she smokes as well. Appearance wise she makes little effort , unironed clothes , sometimes dirty and always with messy hair.

now i expect someone who is in their 50s to give up but shes only 21!

I honestly feel that they gave me this desk is because no one else would work with her.
Ive talked to the team leader but because we are both males we dnt want to seem sexist about her appearance.
So what should i do ?

UPDATE…
I had a day off last week and during that day someone(may or may not have been me) had emailed her using a anon.email to her personal email address, apparently they wrote something like " please have a shower and buy some perfume , you smell , we dont like it etc"
so she checked her email address during lunch and started crying and left early.
the next day when i was back at work.she wasnt there and the day after she came back, she looked more tidy, showered and and not smelly/
so i guess it all worked out.

Poll Options expired

  • 10
    Buy her a present of deo,mints,soap,etc
  • 7
    confront her about it
  • 52
    escalate the matter to the department manger
  • 8
    get over it , everyone smells.
Education & Work

closed Comments

  • Car-la-la on 06/05/2017 - 22:25
    +12

    You expect someone in their 50s to give up?? righteo

    • [Deactivated] on 07/05/2017 - 00:26
      -4

      it makes more sense.
      at 50 you prob are married,had kids,divorced,married again and dnt care about impressing someone

      • tomsco on 07/05/2017 - 08:49
        +7

        That's me at 28.

      • johninmelb on 07/05/2017 - 13:31
        +1

        I'm 67, and definitely don't need to impress anyone.

        But I would never ever turn up anywhere, let alone work, looking like a slob.

        I was never rich and never had expensive clothes, but everyone used to remark on the fact that I always turned up for work looking clean and smart.

        Don't make generalisations about people. Not everyone over 30 is a slob.

        • callum9999 on 07/05/2017 - 13:40

          Why would everyone remark on that? Either you were working with a bunch of extreme slobs or you care about your appearance a bit more than you think you do!

  • trustnoone on 06/05/2017 - 22:36
    +2

    Wait, I don't iron my clothes and I work in a similar looking table :O oh its okay I'm a guy so I'm not this person.

    Lol at my office some of us has lil fans (USB ones?), it helps keep you cooler due to crummy building air conditioning, but you might be able to say something along the lines of "oh something smells a bit funky in here" and switch the fan on, or open a smelling soap thing or something.

    I just feel like it might be low key enough that she might be like "oh that could be me, I better do something", and if anything it'll probably help you with the smell. In this way you also arn't pointing any fingers but the actual person still gets it.

    Otherwise talking to HR or manager might deal with it, they might send out a company wide email which might be enough, or they might deal with it directly.

    Also is this fairly recent or ongoing for a while? as you say someone in their 20s, unironed and messy hair. I do wonder if she is having some problems at home. I know I've been there before, last thing you think of is your hair or ironing your clothes when things get full on.

    • Diji1 on 06/05/2017 - 22:59
      +4

      she might be like "oh that could be me, I better do something"

      Yeah that's not gonna happen :p

  • Settero on 06/05/2017 - 22:46
    +4

    its called HR, speak to them discreetly.

  • [Deactivated] on 06/05/2017 - 23:13

    Buy her a present of deo,mints,soap,etc

    Kris Kringle is the perfect opportunity for this.

    she drinks coffee constantly and doesnt take mints, she smokes as well.

    Menthol cigarettes or nicabate + spa treatment + perfume might be more subtle way to go about it.

  • BuyoTheCat on 06/05/2017 - 23:13
    +10

    wear a gas mask at your desk

    • brokeunistudent on 07/05/2017 - 02:06

      Can confirm. Always works. Go in with oxygen tanks to uni every week. Never failed so far…

      • BuyoTheCat on 07/05/2017 - 11:33

        long long time ago in a galaxy not so far away,
        I had to go to a uni comp lab to submit an assignment via ftp.

        ALL the labs were full and it stank inside.

    • ChillBro on 07/05/2017 - 02:14
      +1

      Is there a bargain for those?

  • supnigs super skids on 06/05/2017 - 23:20
    -5

    Buy an electric air fresher and it should go off when she's around automatically. I can imagine the smells of fart, piss, spit and tacos.. she's also fat huh?

    • Baebs on 06/05/2017 - 23:25
      +2

      Sounds like the full package considering it required OP to make an Ozbargain post with a poll lmao

  • Donaldhump on 06/05/2017 - 23:56
    +1

    a.) little desk fan blowing in her direction.
    b.) bakes beans and flush her out, even raise a cheek at her
    c.) leave deodorant can on her desk with bag of minties
    d.) or all 3

    • callum9999 on 07/05/2017 - 13:43

      That's what I thought - but they're also objecting to how they LOOK, which really isn't any of their business. I can certainly see how it could be construed as sexist if a bunch of men start telling a woman to look nicer, even though it most likely has nothing to do with it.

      • Wallyt99 on 13/05/2017 - 06:26

        They are not demanding she wears makeup… Just shower occasionally. Its hardly sexist.

        • callum9999 on 13/05/2017 - 13:06

          They discussed her appearance being unsatisfactory to them, not just that she needs to shower…

          The smell needs to be intervened on (I personally wouldn't have gone down the make her breakdown and run away from work route, but it certainly seems to have been effective!), her appearance not meeting your standards is irrelevant.

  • Pharos5 on 07/05/2017 - 00:49
    +4

    Seems like there's a clear failure on her part to meet the expectations of a professional workplace. Definitely a HR issue.

  • [Deactivated] on 07/05/2017 - 03:55
    +2

    place fish in her draw

    • [Deactivated] on 08/05/2017 - 00:34

      Might already smell as if one is there.

  • chumlee on 07/05/2017 - 07:58

    Just rip out some farts at your desk and let her pull out the air freshener

  • [Deactivated] on 07/05/2017 - 08:21

    Be sure to rescue baby Jeebus from the department manger…
    :)

    Also, this?

    Scroll down…
    Shipping in May…
    They heard your plea!

  • loulou1 on 07/05/2017 - 08:30
    +2

    Her appearance to put it bluntly, is none of your business. Hygiene on the other hand….
    She may be allergic to deodorant (seriously) and may have no idea how her coffee breath smells. How close to her face are you if you can smell it?
    As someone else said, she may also be going through some stuff and need kindness rather than judgement. Doesn't take much to ask her if she is ok.
    Team leader, if unable to do anything, should speak to HR or whatever and get them to speak with the lady. That is one of the reasons the team leader gets paid more than you, to deal with this stuff.

  • Euphemistic on 07/05/2017 - 08:32
    +1

    Submit resignation.

  • [Deactivated] on 07/05/2017 - 09:47

    Bad dressing presentation is your managers problem, but for bad BO and breath, you are not paid to smell it!
    Constantly offer her mints/gum after you have put one in your mouth until she gets the hint.
    put scents where she sits and when she asks, tell her there is a sporadic odour about.
    Worst case when she gets near, start gasping like as if your dad farted.

  • peterpeterpumpkin on 07/05/2017 - 11:03
    +1

    While I've experienced similar issues and understand your frustration, I wouldn't claim she has "very very bad hygiene problems" unless you carefully monitored her hygiene practices. It would be better to present observable facts. Though you could argue as a smoker she's statistically more likely to have an oral bacterial imbalance and increased propensity to periodontitis. And I suppose both smoking and coffee are known to cause dry mouth which leads to bacterial growth and bad breath…

    A lot of people don't wear deodorant on their armpits and are lucky enough to not produce a heavy smell when wearing cotton. If killing bacteria was the primary concern we'd probably be applying anti-bacterial substances to our belly buttons and behind the ears (though the former probably isn't such a bad idea).

    OK, that's enough devil's advocate for today.

    I don't have it in me to accuse someone of a bad smell, but if you do you may end up being the hero that did something that led to a co-worker getting a diagnosis of diabetes or liver or kidney issues.

  • Savas on 07/05/2017 - 14:37
    +2

    Might want to be careful of any medical conditions or treatments she has.

    • [Deactivated] on 07/05/2017 - 17:36
      +1

      ive spoke to a few people about her , she has none.
      apparently she doesnt care to much anymore

  • noob999 on 07/05/2017 - 19:34

    Man up and start with Old Spice then Brute33… get your man stink on!
    Use some of the stinky surface spray… tape a few car deodorants under your desk.
    Make it more comfortable for YOU.

    • supnigs super skids on 09/05/2017 - 00:42

      Jovan musk for that feral man smell like balls.. cheap too

      • myusername on 09/05/2017 - 11:44

        black beard's delight?

        sex panther maybe?

  • BobD on 07/05/2017 - 21:37

    Get some of that air freshener that's advertised on TV. The one that puffs out another batch of smell nice every few seconds or is it minutes. Set it up and keep it fed and keep your distance from your co-worker.

  • hal9000 on 08/05/2017 - 15:24

    she's a feminist

  • myusername on 09/05/2017 - 09:35

    go to your manager and or HR

    i've got the same in my workplace, we've got a contractor working here as a temp for a few months.

    he walks around the little area we're in 'cropdusting'

    openly admits to never having worn deodorant in his life.

    his work area always has like week old coffee cups, generally around 3 or 4 behind his monitor, there's always used serviettes and food wrappers left lying around.

    one of the guys bought a can of deodorant and left it on his desk as a hint.

    we've spoken with our manager and he won't touch the problem.

  • Halo375 on 09/05/2017 - 11:57

    Absolutely avoid doing anything directly yourself with this person - despite your best intentions in this day and age you could get in trouble for creating a hostile environment or bullying. Totally agree with comments that her appearance is none of your business but smell certainly is. Your employer has a duty of care to provide a safe and comfortable working environment for you. HR and management need to step up and take care of it, or move you away from this space. Again - don't engage her directly.

  • HardForU on 10/05/2017 - 15:47
    +2

    It's the same problem as I am facing. I have the bad smell issue with my co-worker who sits besides me on the table and does not seem to brush his teeth. He keeps on yawning which makes it nearly impossible to sit beside him. The thing is, I can not even gift him a tooth brush as a present. So, what I did is bought a pack of candies and mints and keep it with me. Whenever I feel irritated with him, I eat a candy/mint and offer him as well. Luckily, he takes one every time I offer him. So now, he is bearable beside me lol.

    Now that your co-worker has the bad hygiene problem, this seems to be really very difficult to tackle. I think even gifting a deo or a perfume won't solve the problem. If she is not hygienic, no perfume can vanish the bad smell. It will only smell like perfume mixed with her bad smell. You should talk to the HR dept directly to shift your seat with someone else. And, if necessary, you can tell the actual reason as well.

    • Wallyt99 on 13/05/2017 - 06:30

      How about the OP applies his deoderant regularly thoughout the day and offers her a spray. It might be the most polite way to say "Hey… You smelly".

      • HardForU on 16/05/2017 - 15:32

        Yes, its a good idea but when two people are sitting that close to each other, it is nearly impossible that they don't smell themselves only loll. Any ways, I think the OP should keep a deodorant with him and spray it on himself whenever he feels bad odour around.

  • Sage on 14/05/2017 - 23:10

    Nice solution.

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