Smelly temp

LittleVoice

KME91 wrote: »

This is simply not true. the only way you create an employee out of an agency worker is by offering them a job. they are employed by the agency, end of.

You are wrong on this. End of.

Zazen999

To the OP.

The fact that you are asking how to handle it suggests to me that you don't know how to handle it, which means you really need to go back to the Agency...as they are the direct employers.

As you said Diplomacy isn't your strong point, and if this went the wrong way during the discussion - you could end up with more problems than just a smelly temp.

redz

VfM4meplse wrote: »

Actually I'm pretty certain this is the case - which is again part of the reason I initially wanted to deal with it myself (I can offer practical advice). The problem is that me heaving over my desk doesn't help anyone either.

Then that would make approaching the problem far simpler. Buy the person a diabetes home testing kit. When they ask the reason for the gift then you can
explain that you are concerned that they may have some illness that they are unaware of due to the excessive body odour that they suffer from. I would stress(repeatedly throughout the conversation) that you are aware that the problem is not due to poor personal hygiene and your concern is for the individual's health and well-being and not a complaint regarding the odour. Also I would suggest that they visit their GP regardless of the outcome of the testing kit.

Regarding your final sentence. I'd open a window first and try breathing through my mouth instead of through the nose. Rubbing a thin layer of vaseline under and around the entrance to the nostrils can help trap the scent molecules too.

DKLS

I had a similar experience with an employee, I tried subtlety, cans of mitchum as secret santa gifts, very blunt meetings all to no avail, in the end I just gave him a small office on his own, as due to the skillset the guy had, I would have had to hire 4 people to replace him, he was a fantastic worker, very clever and saved the company many 000s. He still stinks to this day, I dont think anything will change him

HappyG1rl

I think the best way to handle it is to put yourselves in their position and realise this is a very difficult thing to hear. You need to get your point across in a direct but gentle manner. Perhaps it needs to be done at the end of a Friday afternoon to give the person time to think about it over the weekend.

I know this is one thing which if it was ever raised with me would make me have the knee jerk reaction of never going back there (and making sure I was more hygienic in my next job). By giving someone the weekend they would have time to realise they need to keep their job and it would give them time to recover if they have hurt feelings. Also be a little bit kinder than usual on the following Monday morning to help them understand you have some empathy with them.

BuddyBonthenet

Toots wrote: »

I think the best way to handle it is to put yourselves in their position and realise this is a very difficult thing to hear. You need to get your point across in a direct but gentle manner. Perhaps it needs to be done at the end of a Friday afternoon to give the person time to think about it over the weekend.

I know this is one thing which if it was ever raised with me would make me have the knee jerk reaction of never going back there (and making sure I was more hygienic in my next job). By giving someone the weekend they would have time to realise they need to keep their job and it would give them time to recover if they have hurt feelings. Also be a little bit kinder than usual on the following Monday morning to help them understand you have some empathy with them.

I agree 100% (our approach to this problem was the same too). For me although this was an 'employment' problem, I felt the best approach was to tackle it on a woman to woman basis - especially if I wanted to carry on working with the person. If that hadn't worked then I would have started looking for advice.

I'm a 'larger' woman and I worry about ever having BO myself and would be mortified if someone told me that I did, but I'd also be so grateful that they had told me.