Smelly workers – how many are actually in the workplace? And How do you let a smelly worker know without hurting their feelings?
The statistics from the research by the University of Bristol into body odour helps us work out that 0.5% of the working population of the UK smell. That’s 109 500 UK employees who should use deodorants but don’t! The study also tells us that a lucky 1 in 50 people have a gene that means they don’t produce body odour at all. The fact that they’ve got dry ear wax is an indication that they carry this gene! Now there’s something to think about asking on your application forms!
1 in every 200 British employees has a body odour problem which means that 6% of UK employers are likely to have smelly workers. That’s 1 in every 17 workplaces! It’s a problem nobody likes talking about. Even fewer like working with smelly workers, but it’s a problem that employers need to address tactfully. Rather than leave it to their less tactful employees. A survey by Australian Recruitment Employment Office found that 75% of people found it difficult to work alongside someone with bad body odour.
What causes smelly workers to smell?
The obvious things:
- Not washing/showering often enough. A survey by Laterooms.com polled 2 000 adults found that on 111 occasions someone didn’t shower or bath on at least one day a week. Also research by the Universities of Manchester, Edinburgh, Lancaster and Southampton found that 20% of Britons wash just four times a week or less.
- Not changing clothes often enough
- Going for a lunch time run and not showering afterwards
- Eating too much spicy food, such as curry or garlic. Because they can make your sweat smell. Evidence also suggests that eating a lot of red meat tends to make body odour worse
Then there’s the less obvious things
- Stress – we’re told this is the smelliest kind of sweat
- Women not washing their bras often enough – ‘Many women overwear and consequently underwash – bras because they have too few that fit properly’. According to bra expert Susan Nethero. The lacy odour-trapping fabrics touching the skin in more than one sweat-prone place means bras should be washed more often than you think.
- The hormonal changes of menopause can cause some women to sweat more than they have in the past
Many people use deodorants and anti-perspirants to control their odour, but there are cultural differences in their use. For example, most people from East Asia don’t produce smelly sweat. A quick trip to the supermarket in Japan will show the difference in the popularity of deodorant usage. In Japan, shops typically have a single-shelf of deodorants versus shelves of choice in the UK.
But there are conditions which can make body odour worse
- Being male – men sweat twice as much as women
- Suffering from excessive sweating. 1% of the UK population suffer from a long-term condition called Hyperhidrosis
- Fasting – whether for religious or health reasons, can cause sweat to smell differently
- Fish Odour Syndrome (Trimethylaminuria) is a genetic condition that makes the individual’s sweat smell like fish.
It’s not just sweat that makes UK employees smell and their colleagues complain. Bad breath is another workplace gripe. 64% of workers struggle to work with someone with bad breath. Then there’s smelly feet and too much perfume! 1 in 4 households in the UK has a can of Lynx lurking somewhere!
But what if you can smell alcohol on a colleague or cannabis?
This might be a delicate situation which could affect the service you are providing. Therefore, you need to approach with discretion directly with the individual. Always remember that a member of staff may smell of alcohol or cannabis. However, it doesn’t mean they have been drinking or taking drugs at work or are under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The smell could be from the night before. Or the employee has been associating with people who have been smoking cannabis. There have been instances where employees have had a certain prescription with side effects, which smell very much like alcohol! As an employer you need to be checking that.
How not to tell someone they smell
A job dreaded by most managers is having to tell smelly workers they smell. Even more so than telling people that they are redundant. Body odour or bad breath is a sensitive subject and challenging to address. However, it is just as challenging for those individuals that have to work with the employee who smells. You do, however, need to be sensitive to the different cooking and eating traditions of different cultures. This can affect body odour and the impact of fasting which can cause bad breath.
An employer telling someone they smell is far less likely to back fire than leaving it to work colleagues. Some examples of how not to tell someone they smell:
- A man who took his colleague into a side room and said, “There are two people in the room, one smells and it isn’t me”
- Or the colleague who filled an employee’s locker with bottles of anti-perspirant.
This kind of approach can easily escalate into allegations of bullying.
How to tell someone they smell:
- Talk to the employee in private.
- Start with a soft approach
- Do not say that people are talking about the smell or that people are complaining. Own the problem yourself and say that you’ve noticed the problem.
- Tell the employee what the problem is as you see it.
- Try to attach the problem to a business issue, eg. the impact on customers or colleagues
- Ask the employee if they have any medical problem that you need to be aware of. Such as hyperhidrosis or Fish Odour Syndrome.
- Check with the employee if there is anything in their personal life which could be causing the problem. (Finding out an employee has lost their home or is living somewhere with no washing facilities is likely to provoke a different reaction from most employers than someone just not bothering to shower).
- Set out your expectations for improvement and a date when you will meet again to review the situation.
- Ask if there is anything you can do to help the employee achieve the improvements.
- Reassure the employee that this informal conversation with them will remain a private matter between the two of you.
- Make a diary note of the conversation.
- Monitor the situation discreetly and hold your review meeting.
Hopefully the situation will improve. If it doesn’t you have an obligation to your other employees to progress the matter formally.
Can you sack a smelly worker?
The short answer is yes, you can sack someone for smelling. In 1999 a newspaper group did just that. There was an employment tribunal case brought by a reporter who had been dismissed partly because he smelled. His dismissal by the employer was upheld. The case presented facts that the employee had been spoken to about his appearance and odour on three occasions.
Here are some sensible precautions you can take as an employer to avoid looking unreasonable.
- Talk to your employee.
- Tell them directly what the problem is and what the impact of their body odour is. As you perceive it, on the team, on clients or some other business issue.
- Make sure they understand what you are talking about. Ssometimes our embarrassment can mean we avoid being specific about the issue we find difficult to address.
- Establish if the employee has any underlying medical condition, which may mean you need to make reasonable adjustments.
- Hyperhidrosis is a condition typified by heavy sweating.
- Fish Odour Syndrome (Trimethylaminuria) is a genetic condition that makes the individual’s sweat smell like fish.
- Set out your expectations
- Set a review date
- Talk to the employee at least once more before commencing formal proceedings against the individual.
- If the employee’s odour doesn’t improve, stick to your disciplinary procedure. Take the matter through formal process, each time considering the appropriateness of a more severe penalty. The explanation given by the employee and the impact on the business. Each time give the right of appeal against any penalty imposed.
- If there is still no improvement you should consider dismissal. What would someone outside your company looking in think about what you’ve done and how you approached it? Would they think it reasonable that you’d got this far?
- If you decide to dismiss, follow your procedure then write to the employee setting out your decision, the reasons for your decision and offering the right of appeal.
Metis HR is a professional HR Consultancy based in the North West of England supporting clients across the country. We specialise in providing outsourced HR services to small and medium-sized businesses. Call us now on 01706 565332 to discuss how we may help you.
