• By Emily Inglis
• Published 06/28/2012

How many of us have been in a situation whereby we have been in an enclosed place with a guy who smells as though he hasn’t bathed in months? Unfortunately, even when there are perfectly good products on the market such as Lynx Africa nowadays, there are times when some men just won’t get the message.

This can actually lead to big problems when this same thing happens within a workplace. If a colleague of yours is not smelling as fresh as they should, even at the beginning of a work day, it can be so hard to know exactly how this should be tackled. Short of thrusting a can of Lynx Africa at them in sheer frustration, how do you even begin to introduce such a sensitive issue?

When you take everything into consideration here, perhaps you need to think that it is not fair for many people to have to suffer, just because of one person. In other words, yes, this should be tackled head on.

The first thing you should do would be to have a very quiet and discreet word with your line manager. It is not your place to bring the matter to your colleague’s attention and it should go down better when handled by a superior.

If you are that superior, it is important not to make a massive deal over this issue. Instead, tackle the subject as lightly and sensitively as possible, but at the same time try to point out that it is not fair on the other members of staff, within the work environment, to put up with this issue any longer.

This would be the employee’s opportunity to explain if there is any underlying medical issue responsible for the issue. If it were to transpire that this is the case, you would need to move forward far more carefully. Take the plaintiffs to one side and discreetly explain that there are other issues involved here. Also, ask the member of staff who has been complained about if there is anything that can be done that would help to contain the problem. Further, there is nothing to stop you from undertaking some undercover research on the medical issue that appears to be responsible.

About the Author: Emily Inglis is writing about Lynx Africa