I have one.
I wanted to ask everyone “what if you had a really stinky coworker?”
I told him to wear some deodorant. I said “in summer, everyone would have strong BO. So why don’t we wear some deodorant for our customers!!” He went like “haha, true true.” And he doesn’t wear it (or not enough).
I have to sit next to him everyday. This problem has been here from last summer. I asked my boss to change my seat (席替え: sekigae) many times. He was like “Ohh, poor you.” or “Sorry we don’t do that on this weird timing.” But this year, since we don’t have to put masks on, this problem got way worse than before. Since my boss doesn’t do any thing, I talked to HR, actually. Sounds like I’m such an asshole but I couldn’t take it any more. That caused a negative impact on my health too. HR said that is not right and talked to my boss’s boss to tell we should switch seats. But even though HR spoke to my boss’s boss, he was like “I’m not telling your boss anything. Can you just put a mask on?”
I’m sorry I don’t really know about BO situation in places other than Japan. But in Japan, it is considered as a disease if you have too strong BO. It is called ワキガ(wakiga). I’m sure he has ワキガ.
Unfortunately I wouldn’t have it in me to do stuff about this any more. But I just wanted to know what everyone would do.
Thanks for reading this looong long post.
28 comments
I once asked my colleague with bo if he changed his diet recently… I added with chotto kusaiyo? And he started to get conscious about it. A bit too conscious… probably coz no one has ever told him about it. But it worked.
Wear a 3M N95 mask, buy a deodorizer off Amazon and put it to your desk.
Write an anonymous note saying he smells really bad and it’s rude and inconsiderate.
Easiest thing at this point is just to go up to the guy and tell him he smells really bad and you can’t work comfortably because of it. Just tell him in a constructive way
If he smells really strongly or abnormally he may have an issue or dietary problems. It could be that he is trying but it’s not working. Anyway, in my opinion in these situations you should directly talk to him and tell him that he smells badly. Body odour is a natural thing and no one should be embarrassed, but we should keep clean and ensure we don’t smell for the sake of others and ourselves. If I smelled badly and didn’t realise I would want to know. But again, body odour is *natural*. You don’t need to confront him nastily, but definitely tell him directly.
I’m petty and vindictive, so I’d probably just come in to work drenched in cologne, smelling like a Turkish harem.
Get a small fan and point it at him.
When he tells you he isn’t hot, you tell him it isn’t for the heat.
👍
i can totally feel your pain 😭😭😭😭
have you tried asking other coworkers if they smell the bo too? sometimes i do that because i’m pretty sensitive to smells, so if others smell it too maybe it’ll be easier for you to come to the person directly about it or slip an anonymous note. good luck with handling this 🥲
You’ve tried the nice way, it’s time to shame him into it. Just tell him he reeks with earshot of other people.
Firstly, I sympathize.
However you said “I told him to wear some deodorant” but from the quoted text you didn’t. From the quoted text you made general comment “In summers, everyone would have strong BO. So why don’t we wear deodorant for our customers”
I’m being specific about that because I know Japanese and non-Japanese people who did have a BO problem but didn’t realize. So unless you make the comment specific to them, they may not understand.
I would strongly suggest you be more direct. Also offer a solution – the Soft Stone deodorant sticks in Japan at the closest I have found to western deodorant that actually works, so recommend those. I actually have bought that for people talking about the issue.
As an aside, another issue could be that certain Japanese washing machines and washing powders/liquids are not great at getting out BO smells. Attack Zero or Ariel seem best. But it may be that their clothes are beyond salvation, and even with deodorant they may not realise that their clothes are stinking.
Why not just embrace it, stop wearing deodorant yourself and try to out stink the competition.. lol
Decorate your work station with odor plants and flowers, such way that your boss and HR should feel the aura!
Ok, some people do have odour. May be because they naturally stink more, may be because of lacking hygiene, but most often because they wear synthetic clothes which they sweat through and which easily stink when they are wet again.
That said, what you did so far was only a super mild hint to said coworker and intrigues behind their back. Please, stop being such a chicken. Bring all your bravery together and tell colleague that he smells and needs to do something with it. Staight out, without hints. Just do not do it in front of others, you do not want to embarrass your colleague, only calmly explain the issue.
He will be thankful for that. Maybe not happy, but I do not see what else could happen. As long as you are not embarrassing him in front of others it should not be an issue.
Deodorant, especially deodorant here is not going to fix this problem. The fact you already talked to him about it is progress. It sounds like the problem is he doesn’t care. If there are OL around you can use them as females are much more sensitive to stink than males. Go talk to him and tell him the OLs feel sick around him but they are too polite to say anything, in a sense shaming him to do the right thing. Of course, you need to find willing OL who will go along with this. Just let them know they don’t have to do anything and you will take care of it.
In my experience this is just bad hygiene. I find that when I wash my armpits vigorously with a strong soap and lather it up nicely my natural BO is much less than if I just rinse or wash casually. I had a friend who smelled really bad. His mother-in-law had to shame him into washing himself better and you know what? He never stinks anymore. But that is probably the exception.
The other thing you can do is get some aroma oil (peppermint is popular) and put it inside of a mask (doesn’t have to be N95) and let him know you have to wear the mask because of him.
In this situation… u assert dominance. Be 10x smellier than him and in the whole office especially next to your boss.
Imagine if the roles were reversed – how would you want to be told?
Book a meeting with him, outside preferably, and have an honest and direct conversation with them. Tell him you’re worried about his health because the smell is so bad, and that’s it’s making you very uncomfortable.
It can be caused by many things, but a poor diet or alcoholism can make it worse. If he’s young it could be hormonal. He may just be really bad at washing his pits, and could be completely oblivious to it.
Most antiperspirant isn’t that good for you, but at least in the short term it might help reset his pits and give his body a chance to get the bacteria that’s causing the stench under control.
Get a strong USB fan(they’ll be cheapest now). Use it in a way that his odor is not an issue.
I had a roommate back in college who had some health issue that made her produce excessive BO. She was also allergic to a lot of deodorants and could only use some natural kinds that didn’t really work. She told me from day one to let her know if she smells.
There was one instance she did smell and she was very thankful and proceeded to put on more perfume.
No one wants to be stinky. And no one wants others to think they’re stinky. Do this person a favor and tell them.
Tell them you’d want to know if you were in their position so you are telling them.
Regardless of this guy’s problems, the OP is entitled to a safe and healthy work environment. Having to endure someone else’s bo stench all day, every day isn’t part of that as it can cause a lot of stress. Therefore I absolutely think it’s the manager’s job to tackle this issue and not the OP’s. If this guy has some medical issue that the OP is not aware of, it’s the company’s job to make sure his issue is not bothering others. They should make reasonable adjustments so everyone feels comfortable at the workplace. OP, I would absolutely have a talk with HR and your manager again and not bother trying to directly solve it with him yourself to avoid being accused of harassing someone for their possibly medical issues.
We had some problem like that in my previous office… didn’t last long, because my coworkers were all insane and one guy right away covered his nose with his shirt and shouted “WTF Taro-san, you stink like a dead animal! Kusai, kusai!”, and started fanning the guy with a piece of paper from his desk.
Some of y’all are assholes. Dude probably doesn’t know bc OP is telling everyone except him. OP, at this point, just tell him instead of telling everyone else in the company. You’re actually embarrassing him more and still doing yourself a disservice bc it still smells. It is not his fault if he does not know. It is a different story if he is aware and still does not do anything.
Take a bottle of febreeze to work and hose him down with it whenever he sits next to you.
Become the manager own the company fire him lol
Seems like your in a very difficult situation, and as someone with a bit sensitive nose I’m a bit interested in you next action. I would probably bring my diffuser with me hahaha and bring my non-sleepy oils
Consider for a second that your coworker may not be able to control their aroma.
Then it may be a disability.
If that’s the case, you’re an asshole for telling him, telling your boss and talking to HR.
That being said, good atmosphere at the workplace is important, so I hope you can figure this out, somehow. I think the other commenters covered that part.
Not sure if this is the case here but i find it is common with foreigners here in japan. Maybe im just unlucky who knows. I had a problem when i first came here aswell but i knew about it. Japanese deodorant just wouldnt do it for me so i get my family to send stuff from home and luckily i no longer have a problem (or hope so).
The guy could be well aware but have no idea what he can so about the problem.
Your boss should make a comment to him in a 1-2-1. We had this situation at work…
Ive said “you seem very hot” and that’s all i could muster up 😭 some people really out here thinking they don’t need deodorant