If your co-worker is guilty of unsanitary hygiene would it be right to tell him/her?

Question

If your co-worker is guilty of unsanitary hygiene would it be right to tell him/her?

Answer 1

Yes, it is your obligation. Especially if it is just wrong.

Answer 2

While I'm sure most co-workers would be embarassed to be told their their bad hygiene has gotten to the point where co-workers notice it, I think most people would rather suffer the undirected embarassment than never realize that people are treating them differently because of their hygiene.



I assume that the issues are things that affect other people, as opposed to their hair looking very unkempt? Even if they end up not being interested in your advice, I think your co-workers will be better off anyway if you take the risk. While an anonymous note leaves open the possibility that it "could be anyone", I think most people would feel more uncomfortable knowing exactly who informed them about their hygiene.



Here are some articles on this issue:

http://www.bankersonline.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/343427/Main/281594

http://www.askmen.com/money/successful_100/120b_success.html

Answer 3

I believe it totally depends on your relationship with that co-worker. The most important thing is to be mindful of people's feelings, and to remain professional. If you do not have a relationship that allows you to comfortably and casually address the issue with your co-worker, it's probably best to address this with HR and have general memo posted about hygiene.

Answer 4

Rather than ruining a working relationship, you could take up pearl diving so you'd be able to hold your breath for insanely long periods of time. It turns out that there actually aren't *enough* smelly people in the world, at least not enough to keep gentlehints.com alive. The site would allow you to send mouthwash, deodorant, or whatever the necessary solution was, to the offending person, along with an anonymous note.